Steven Monroe’s I Spit On Your Grave–a remake of the 1978 movie of the same name–isn’t terrible or anti-woman, despite the subject matter.

The problem is it that it shortchanges women in the sense that the movie doesn’t appear to take them terribly serious (unless they’re being victimized by men).

We see this tendency during the gang rape of Jennifer (Sarah Butler), which is done quite realistically–though tastefully in that it’s more suggested than seen, though I understand that considering the subject matter that’s perhaps not the word one would want to use.

In movies like Deliverance and Death Wish (both of which feature male antagonists) their vengeance is treated more realistically–and more importantly feels like less of a calculation, which makes them seem somewhat sympathetic, despite the chaos that they cause in their quest for revenge.

While I Spit On Your Grave treats the vengeance of the antagonist, who happens to be female, with three or four often overly elaborate set pieces, which resemble something out of a Saw-type movie. And while such an approach may be visually effective, it also diminishes the “righteousness” of the victim’s cause, somewhat turning them into a threat as deserving of sympathy as the rapists they’re punishing.

Which is a really odd place to be.