Common Sense Media Review
By Kat Halstead
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Strong sexual violence in needless horror remake.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
What's the Story?
In I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (2010), Jennifer (Sarah Butler) leaves the city to stay in a remote cabin, where she intends to work on her latest book. There, she is stalked, harassed, and violently sexually assaulted by a group of men, who leave her for dead. Little do they know she's gathering strength and about to exact deadly revenge.
Is It Any Good?
This remake of the controversial 1978 video nasty does little to address the issues with the original film, yet spends less screen time on the sexual assault and more on the violent revenge. While this goes some way to tipping the scales, make no mistake, I Spit on Your Grave (2010) is still gratuitous and incredibly unpleasant to watch. Here, the deaths of the attackers are more gory and prolonged, rather than the more functional nature in the original. It can easily be classed as torture porn, and no matter how empowering some may read the turnaround when Jennifer becomes the hunter, there's no getting away from the fact that it's a story centered on violent gang rape that may have lost some of it's shock value but is still better left behind in the 1970s.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the sexual violence in I Spit on Your Grave (2010). Did you think the sexual violence portrayed was too strong? What are the dangers of showing such gratuitous material on-screen? Does exposure to violent media desensitize kids to violence?
Discuss the strong language used. Did it seem necessary or excessive? What did it contribute to the movie?
How was sex portrayed and discussed in the movie? Was it affectionate? Respectful? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.
The character of Jennifer spends the second half of the film stalking her attackers and violently exacting her revenge. Did this affect whether you saw her as a victim? Did you think there was an empowering element to the movie?
The movie is a remake of the 1978 film of the same name. Have you seen the original? If so, how do the two compare? If not, does it tempt you to watch the first one? Did you know much about the controversy surrounding the original before you saw this? Do you think it was warranted? And do you think this remake goes any way toward addressing those concerns?
Movie Details
- In theaters : October 8, 2010
- On DVD or streaming : February 8, 2011
- Cast : Sarah Butler , Jeff Branson , Andrew Howard
- Director : Steven R. Monroe
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Anchor Bay Films
- Genre : Horror
- Run time : 108 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : pervasive strong sadistic brutal violence, rape and torture, nudity and language
- Last updated : July 29, 2025
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