I Spit on Your Grave 3: Vengeance Is Mine

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.

.... and pretty much falls flat on its face.

Which is a pity, since as a reviewer who has been watching theatrical releases since the 1970s, up to this point the ISOYG franchise was one of the "purest" of the 70s style releases left on the planet.

Notice that I am not saying whether or not this is a good thing - whether this style of visceral horror is "your cup of tea" is really up to the viewer. The point is that ISOYG entries 1 and 2 were true to the formula and, for purists, they delivered.

This entry is strange. If you check the IMDb credits, star Sarah Butler, who pretty much has been carrying this series on her back, gets a "misc" credit at the end of the IMDb roll. Whattsup with that? This entry takes a sharp right turn from the formula -- never a great way to start a movie -- and relies instead on a lot of scholarly dialog and flashbacks to the earlier entries just to maintain a pretence of dramatic tension.

Pa-leeze! The "4" rating may be a bit high, but Butler does have her fans and she deserves credit for holding screen interest.

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.

For a franchise that has subtle title like "I Spit on Your Grave", it certainly has no shortage of gruesome scenes. I'd even say it's a level above what most slasher flicks can pull off. Unfortunately, aggression alone doesn't cut it, the movie has a very touchy subject and it lacks any refinement to deliver anything consistent aside from random rage trip.

In what seems to be a mix between vigilante and horror flick, the protagonist literally whacks people she deems evil. As one might expect this is far from rainbow and sunshine, it's pretty much one of the bleakest and profanity infested B-movie in this year. The unapologetic style might work for a bit, but it alienates the audience and certainly isn't a way to draw sympathy.

It first tries to introduce the protagonist after abusive past, then it falls apart when she dives into insanity. Using a heavy theme isn't easy. Some other vigilante movies with female leads like Jodie Foster's Brave or even Jennifer Lopez's Lila and Eva, while not entirely perfect, but they do have some empathetic appeal. This movie has none of that and it doesn't really care.

What it does have, in spade, is brutal carnage. It has some of the most surprising and striking gore scenes, and they alone might just warrant some viewing as legit slasher flick. However, the overly combative nature won't win any audience. At some points the intrusive thoughts are chaotic for the sake of being chaotic alone.

This one is for gore purist only, it's a really aggressive rendition of vengeance premise and while it most likely attract the horror fans, it may not be appealing to casual viewer, especially if they're not familiar with the franchise.