Trivia / I Spit on Your Grave

• Actor-Inspired Element:
  • The four male actors offered to appear nude in the film to show solidarity with Camille Keaton - who would be spending most of the film without clothes on.
  • Camille Keaton suggested that Jennifer say "suck it, bitch" to Stanley as a Meaningful Echo to what he said in the rape scene.
• Alan Smithee: On the 2010 remake; the screenwriter - future Lifetime Movie of the Week regular Sam Rockoff, is credited as Stuart Morse.
• Banned in China: Many nations refused to issue the movie.
• Cast the Expert: Gunter Kleemann already knew how to use a motorboat when he was cast as Andy, and he also improvised the boat frequently tipping up in the air while it was zooming past Jennifer to symbolise the men getting a "hard on" for her. He also taught Camille Keaton how to use it for the final scene.
• Completely Different Title: Known in France as Œil pour œil ("An eye for an eye"), probably to avoid confusion with the completely unrelated Boris Vian's novel I Spit on Your Graves or its movie adaptation.
  • Argentina: Take Revenge
  • Brazil: Jennifer's Revenge (original), Sweet Revenge (remake)
  • Greece: Wild Day
  • Italy: Don't Rape Jennifer
  • Japan: Estrus Animal
  • Portugal: Raped Woman
  • Spain: The Violence of Sex
• Creator Backlash:
  • Eron Tabor (real name Ron Shetler) who played Johnny has admitted that he can't watch his own performance back and the backlash from it, as well as people assuming he was just like his character meant he quit acting. While he agreed to be interviewed for the Growing Up With I Spit On Your Grave documentary, he's said he wouldn't want his children seeing the film.
  • Camille Keaton was initially shocked by the negative backlash, but chose to be proud of the film over the years after being thanked by many survivors of sexual assault who found it cathartic, and she has stood by it ever since.
  "The first film was inspired by true events after Meir Zarchi rescued a woman who'd been raped, so I don't think it's exploitative, it's empowering to women. That's what I love about Meir's work, it doesn't glamorise anything and even the grittiness of the cinematography shows the tone of what's happened. Statistics show that in the United States 1 in 5 women have been raped, so the truth is that it's a very real and worldwide issue. Most of us know someone who's been affected. When a movie takes on a subject like this, I think it's very brave."
• Creator Breakdown: A crew member quit during filming of the second rape scene, unable to stomach the violence. The make-up artist likewise quit halfway through - as she'd suffered a gang rape in the past and couldn't bear to relive the horror again.
• Enforced Method Acting:
  • Eron Tabor bought a pair of boots that were a size too big and cut the heels out of them to give Johnny a lumbering walk. He also smoked cigars to make his voice deeper.
  • When Jennifer is running through the swamp and bumps into Johnny, Camille Keaton wasn't expecting Eron Tabor to jump out at her, so her surprised "oh!" is genuine.
  • In the original, the real reason Matthew's hanging death throes look so realistic was because the actor was scared to death of heights and having a panic attack.
  • Johnny's realistic jump of shock when Jennifer shoots the ground in front of him was accomplished by having a firecracker placed a few inches away from Eron Tabor, so that he actually jumped when it went off.
  • Andy and Stanley's terror in the climactic motor boat scene was enhanced by the fact that the water had become cold by the end of the shoot, and the actors were freezing. Anthony Nichols was also genuinely afraid that Camille Keaton would accidentally hit him while driving the boat, and she recalls him panicking during lunch that day and begging her to practice using the boat some more.
• Executive Meddling: The title being changed to 'I Spit On Your Grave' and the sexualized poster were mandated by the distributor, to the filmmakers' dismay.
• Hey, It's That Place!: Friday the 13th Part 2 was filmed in the same location two years later.
• Method Acting:
  • Camille Keaton was supposed to share a room with a makeup artist during filming, but asked if she could have a room on her own so that she could properly simulate Jennifer's feeling of isolation.
  • Eron Tabor came up with a whole backstory for Johnny - he was a Vietnam veteran who had done horrible things in the war and found that he liked them - and he was bored with civilian life. He wore a Marine cap and bought overalls to simulate something that could have been a uniform.
• The Mockbuster: A Turkish rape-revenge movie made one year later is known in some circles as "Turkish I Spit On Your Grave".
• Money, Dear Boy: An extremely downplayed example. Terry Zarchi joked that he had to be bribed $10 to appear as Johnny's son.
• No Stunt Double: The production couldn't afford any stunt people, so all the actors did their own.
• On-Set Injury: Gunter Kleemann injured his back with all the thrusting he did during the part where Jennifer is raped on top of the rock, and had trouble walking for three days afterwards.
• One-Take Wonder: Gunter Kleemann was often nicknamed "One Take Gunter" because he'd often get things done perfectly on the first take.
• The Other Marty: Another actress was cast in the small role of Johnny's wife, but she fell ill on the day she was needed, and couldn't travel from New York. Alexis Magnotti was the film's script supervisor and she was able to step in at the last minute, and was able to work with the children because they knew her already.
• Real-Life Relative:
  • Johnny's children, seen when his wife is berating Stanley and Andy, are played by Meir Zarchi's son and daughter, Terry and Tammy. Terry would go on to produce a documentary about the film forty years later, titled Growing Up With I Spit On Your Grave. The two would reprise their roles in Deja Vu.
  • Meir Zarchi's wife Janice also appears in the supermarket packing groceries in a scene.
• Reality Subtext: Zarchi (the director) was inspired to create this film after helping a rape victim to the police and was appalled by how unsympathetic an officer acted toward the victim.
• Romance on the Set: Meir Zerchi left his wife for Camille Keaton, and they married, but divorced in 1982.
• Safe Word: In the remake, according to Jeff Branson (Johnny), there was an "out word" in case things got too intense for Sarah Butler (Jennifer), though it was never actually used.
• She Also Did: The woman in the famous poster? That's a pre-fame Demi Moore! She confirmed this in her autobiography; she was working as a nude model at the time, and producer Charles Band thought Camille Keaton was "too thin" for the new poster - so he had Demi model for it, since she was starring in his film Parasite.
• Similarly Named Works: Unrelated with I Spit on Your Graves, a French 1946 crime novel written by Boris Vian.
• Throw It In!:
  • The setting came from visiting cinematographer Yuri Haviv's summer home in Connecticut, and Meir Zarchi decided to have Jennifer be a writer staying in the woods to get inspiration. The house is the one used in the film.
  • Gunter Kleemann turned up to set with suspenders on, and Meir Zarchi told him to wear them in every scene to distinguish his character from the others.
  • Johnny's son can be seen frequently pulling up his pants, which Terry Zarchi admitted was something he did when he was nervous.
  • Camille Keaton ad-libbed Jennifer saying "do I?" in response to Johnny saying she has a "sick sense of humour".
• Wag the Director:
  • Meir Zarchi wanted a shot after Andy sodomises Jennifer for her to fall off the rock and flop against a tree. Camille Keaton's emotions were already running high after the scene she just filmed and refused, going to a nearby equipment van and breaking a couple of things, before returning and telling Meir Zarchi to demonstrate exactly what he wanted. The director stripped down to his underwear and performed the movement, and so Camille agreed to do one take of it.
  • Jamie Bernadette agreed to appear nude in Deja Vu on the condition that the male actors, Jeremy Feldman and Jonathan Peacy, also do so. Both agreed.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The first draft of the screenplay had the Working Title 'The Housatonic Revenge', with Meir Zarchi writing under the female pseudonym 'Linda Sommers' (feeling no one would question a woman writing such a story). As a result, at many convention appearances, he was constantly asked about this Linda Sommers and whether she'd give interviews.
  • The movie was filmed under the title Day of the Woman, while also being shown under I Hate Your Guts and The Rape and Revenge of Jennifer Hill. I Spit on Your Grave first got used for the 1980 re-release. While Meir Zarchi acknowledges the title made it a controversial success, he insists that Day of the Woman be attached to all DVDs and posters.
  • There was intended to be music, but Meir Zarchi couldn't find anything suitable - so the film has no soundtrack.
  • References to anal rape had to be removed before the MPAA would approve the film.
  • Deja Vu had been written as early as 2010, but had to be pushed back so as not to compete with the remake and its sequels.