Ed's Review Dot Com

Family of the Year Productions

Chad Lindberg, Tracey Walter, Daniel Franzese, Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Andrew Howard, Rodney Eastman, Saxon Sharbino, Mollie Milligan

Jennifer (Sarah Butler) is a writer who has decided to take a retreat and rented a cabin way out in the middle of nowhere. But to her bad luck, she accidentally embarrased one of the local yokels and made some enemies unbeknownst to her. Later, fuelled by beer and big talk the guys decide to drop by and visit this pretty city girl and teach her a lesson. She is brutally raped and beaten when things suddenly turn worse. Left for dead, she returns to exact revenge on the guys one by one.

This is a remake of the original shocker film by the same title from 1978. The story is very close, only a few things have been added. The original was one of the most shocking films of all times. It was very, very graphic and extremely violent. It was named by Roger Ebert as the “worst film of all time”. This version is, as I said, nearly the same story, and it is still shocking, even by today’s standards. It’s interesting though, to compare the 1978 version to this one. This one is much more “Saw” like with clever and interesting ways to kill someone. Things have changed. In 1978 it was pure revenge and hate, whereas this one is much more clever and James Bondish. The original was more raw and more graphic. Now maybe I will get some flack for that last statement, as the 2010 one is certainly graphic, but I think it loses some of the shock value of the original since it is slicker and less raw passion, in my humble opinion.

However this doesn’t mean this one is not graphic and gory. It certainly is, and it was not submitted for rating because it would surely deserve an NC-17 if not more. However it is a lot slicker, more is suggested and not actually shown, and it’s a bit above the original in the “taste” department. Still it’s a graphic revenge killing film. It features a strong woman who isn’t about to take what was done to her easily. She’s a tough girl, for sure, and the guys get what they deserve, no doubt about it.

Many people decry this film for the violence against the woman, and at the same time praise it for the strong female lead. It’s hard to have it both ways, but I can certainly understand the controversy. This film has been compared to Deliverance by the filmmakers, and that’s a bit of a fair comparison. It’s shocking in the same way, and it is sort of a female Deliverance. But some poeple will be unable to watch the violence throughout, first against the woman, which is just awful, and then the revenge against the men. They did a good job of getting the emotion and violence down on film. If you can take it, then it’s not a bad remake, but if you’re squeamish, this is not a film for the weak hearted.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

This is the original 1978 trailer