Anchor Bay Films just announced that they’ve acquired CineTel Film’ I Spit on Your Grave remake for release in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Under the deal the film will receive a theatrical release in the Fall under Anchor Bay’s label, with a dvd and blu-ray release planned for the beginning of 2011.
The remake was directed by Steven R. Monroe, who’s made a bunch of iffy horror films in the past (It Waits, Dual, House of 9) and stars Sarah Butler. Like in the original the story’s about a city girl who rents a cabin in the countryside so she can rest and write her latest novel. After harassing her a bunch, a group of local hillbillies break into her house and rape her, leaving her for dead. But she’s not… and she’s out for revenge. Daniel Franzese (Bully), Chad Lindberg (The Fast and The Furious), Rodney Eastman (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 & 4) and Andrew Howard (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen). round up the rest of the cast.
The 1978 original (also known as Day of the Woman) really is an underrated and (still!) misunderstood film that falsely
gets labeled as misogynist quite a bit. It has to do with the subject matter, of course, but get beyond the really incredibly grueling sequences and you’ll find one of the all time great female revenge films. There’s a reason it made CHUD’s Essentials List.
Anchor Bay knows how revered and disgusted people are by the original, which is why their Senior Vice President of Acquisitions notes that he “can safely say that this remake not only honors the 1978 original, but will shock today’s audiences as never before.”
Very ballsy claim- I like it. But we shall see. Before it hits I suggest you grab the dvd of the original and be prepared to watch the film twice, because you’ll definitely want to check it out with the fantastic Joe Bob Briggs commentary (he of Redneck haiku). Every genre film should come with a Joe Bob commentary.
We’ll let you know more about release plans when we hear it.