I Spit on Your Grave 3: Vengeance Is Mine

Like it or loath it, the very original I Spit on Your Grave was a shocking and powerful movie. The 2010 remake, although somewhat over the top in the revenge department, was good. Part 2, nothing to do with it's predecessor, was also quite good. Part 3 picks up from the 2010 film with Sarah Butler reprising her role. This is the best thing about part 3, she plays her part well and looks good doing so. The thin plot has her day dreaming about commiting murders and actually committing them (I think!). The ending is not great and it left me feeling somewhat disappointed. Sure, the killings are brutal and bloody but there are many far better movies out there for that. Really quite a needless sequel. It lacks the amount of sexual violence of the previous movies and consequently is the only I Spit to be passed uncut in Britain by the BBFC.

This film acts as a direct sequel to the first film, and it was great to see Jennifer Hills back as Sarah Butler.

Still haunted by what happened, we find her now living in a cheap downtown apartment and attending a weekly rape counseling meeting with other victims.

At the meeting, she soon befriends the feisty Maria, and is inspired to find a new confidence in herself.

Maria encourages Sarah to be more feisty too - but Sarah is seemingly more restrained.

When Maria mentions that she believes that revenge is the best way to serve justice on the rape crimes that the police and courts fail to do, just how far will she go and will it stir up latent feelings in Sarah?

The first hour of this film was great, and I have to say I was surprised at how good it actually was.

I liked the idea of Sarah getting back on with her life with a new office job, and attending the meetings with other victims.

As it went on, I kind of had my own conclusion to the film mapped out in my head - but, unfortunately in the final half hour, that's where it all goes horribly wrong and the film goes off the rails.

Without wanting to give spoilers, let's just say that the central premise is total to overplayed and exploited to the point of stupidity. In the first film, Sarah was stealthy, clever and totally in control of her actions - but here she is totally out of character and out of control, and the silly ending will leave you feeling cheated.

7 out of 10 for the first hour - zero for the rest!

I must admit that I was a tad excited about a third movie in this brutal series coming out and I was thrilled when I finally got the chance to sit down and watch it. But my expectations were equally brutally cut down in size.

This third movie was nowhere near the same level of intensity, brutality and entertainment as the previous two movies. Mind you, that it is still a good enough movie to watch, just don't get your expectations up for it to follow in the same bloody footsteps as the previous two movies.

It was nice, though, to have the Angela character (played by Sarah Butler) to return to the movie, although the character did seem sort of a spoof and a parody on itself, given the events in the first movie, and how she had turned out in the third movie.

The story in "I Spit on Your Grave 3: Vengeance Is Mine" was fairly straight forward, albeit lacking a deeper content and a meaning that would be satisfying and fulfilling for the audience.

The acting in the movie was good, as it has been since the first movie. And the special effects were great, also as they had been in the previous movies. And while this third movie didn't have as much violence as the previous two movies, then the effects and presentation of the situations were right up to level with the previous movies. There are some graphic scenes which will make you squirm - especially if you are a guy.

However, the movie just lacked that special ingredient to make it a worthy third installment to the series. But isn't that the perpetual curse of sequels? They tend to drop in worth and entertainment the further the series continues on.

I am rating "I Spit on Your Grave 3: Vengeance Is Mine" a mediocre five out of ten stars, because it just wasn't living up to my expectations on any level.

Jennifer Hills (Sarah Butler) is still haunted by her rape and is living under the new name Angela. She has a therapist and attends a support group. She fantasizes about vigilante violence. When a friend in the group is murdered, she turns into a real vigilante.

This is a direct sequel to the first movie. It's a continuation of the story rather than a repeat. It's more akin to Death Wish. This works to that extend. There isn't much else. The cops are heartless idiots. The world is full of lecherous males. Even when they aren't, she says that they are. I do appreciate a direct sequel but it's the least imaginative way forward. There is limited tension and limited story advancement.

The first two entries in this remade series have been absolutely brilliant. So when I found out the director of the first two Steven R. Monroe wasn't going to be returning I was very disappointed. Wow what a difference a director can make. R.D. Braunstein takes over the helm for the third installment and things just completely fall apart. Admittedly he's been handed an absolute dud of a script by first time screenwriter Daniel Gilboy, but still a better effort than this would have been nice.

I was glad to see Sarah Butler returning to her role because she was absolutely perfect in the first one. I suspect she didn't read the script though (or agreed before it was even written), because all this one did was completely ruin the character originally created. The format is completely changed, which is not necessarily a bad thing, a third one done exactly the same might have been pushing it, but if this was the best alternative they could come up with then things should have just been left as they were after two.

The dialogue is terrible, especially from the police officers. At one point a female officer walks into a rape support group and starts deliberately teasing a man about the pronouncement of his name. This was absolutely shudder-worthy and unfortunately only one of many instances like it in the film. Every character is unbelievably annoying (yes even 'Jennifer Hills') and consequently where the first two films did such a good job of creating sympathy for the lead character and utter despise of the villains, that's non-existent this time around. An absolute misfire that should never have been made.