Growing Up with I Spit on Your Grave (2019)

★★★
Terry Zarchi's mistitled Growing Up with I Spit on Your Grave (more on that later) expands upon previous examinations of Meir Zarchi's cult classic that appeared on D.V.D. releases and presents an informative behind-the-scenes look at the infamous shocker from 1978. He brings together a wide array of commentators and cast members to discuss how the movie came together, the experience of filming its notorious rape scenes and the Streisand Effect that the negative reviews had on home video sales. Star Camille Keaton has spoken frequently on her involvement and her belief in the project, but the younger Zarchi goes one step further by obtaining interviews with actors Eron Tabor and Gunter Kleemann, who both explain how they got their roles and go over what they thought of the content when they read the script. Crew members and film critics chime in, but Zarchi's use of social media to recruit commentators both for and against the movie is a level of fan outreach that I've never seen before.

I've written at length about both I Spit on Your Grave and its 2010 remake I Spit on Your Grave. Much of the production for the former has been discussed elsewhere, namely on the Millennium Edition's D.V.D., so there's a lot of repeat information (Keaton's tantrum in a van is one), but the value in this new documentary comes from the additional voices, behind-the-scenes photographs and the response to Siskel & Ebert's denouncement both on their T.V. show and in print. The name change from Day of the Woman is part of the movie's lore, but Gary Adelman, formerly of the Jerry Gross Organization, which purchased the domestic theatrical distribution rights, finally gives us the story of how the new title originated. Makeup specialist William Tasgal describes in detail how he achieved the movie's most violent scenes. Given the limited budget, he had to get creative to achieve many of the effects, to include purchasing supplies off the local economy. The identity of the movie poster's model is revealed here too.

We watch Terry Zarchi chart the film's journey from completion to the Cannes Film Festival, where it found foreign distributors, and back home again, where marketing was nonexistent. It's eventual premiere in Chicago brought the movie into the orbit of Siskel & Ebert, whose Sneak Previews was the precursor to the duo's syndicated show that I watched faithfully for years. To say that they tore into it would be an understatement. It was their pick for worst movie of 1980, and that's the same year that included Caligula, The Exterminator and the Troma production Mother's Day. Their scathing reviews and public condemnation got the film pulled from theaters. The filmmakers here cover this period of the film's history, but thankfully they don't appear bitter about it. Making something this graphic was bound to attract negative press. Both Adelman and Tasgal share stories of meeting Roger Ebert years later and revealing to him their involvement in the movie. I met Ebert too, and he told me Rob Reiner's North (1994) was even worse, so Meir Zarchi can rest easy knowing that another movie came along to earn the new title of worst movie the critic has ever seen.

The only dissenting voice in Terry Zarchi's documentary is Kenneth Portnoy, Professor of Cinema and Television Arts at California State University, Northridge. His observations about the quality of the movie and Meir Zarchi's writing and directing are fair points to make. I certainly wish that the movie's weaknesses could have been avoided. As I wrote in my own review, "It’s a shame that [Zarchi] wrote some dialogue that…comes across as generic. Sound recording and editing are sometimes poor. Characters behave nonsensically in certain situations." Though Terry is focused on his father's movie's redeemable aspects, he nonetheless gives Dr. Portnoy a decent amount of time to demystify the production. Rather than take the easy route and blast the surface, Portnoy digs a little deeper to discuss the flaws in the presentation. It's a welcome addition. There is one interview that offers a twist: Actor Eron Tabor regrets his involvement. Terry Zarchi could have left this out, but interestingly he leaves in this revelation and lets Tabor and costar Gunter Kleemann offer divergent perspectives on what the movie means to them. Kleemann accepts his place in shock cinema history, while Tabor quit acting as a result of the controversy. I'm glad he was willing to share his stories from the set, which were largely positive.

The centerpiece interview, as always and unsurprisingly, belongs to Camille Keaton, who is a joy to watch. She has aged so gracefully—what is her secret? She and Meir Zarchi were married briefly, and he pays her a heartfelt surprise visit in the middle of her segment. They look at family photos and show us pictures of their parents. (Camille's relation to Buster Keaton is not mentioned.) Growing Up with I Spit on Your Grave covers a lot of ground, but the one thing I wanted to see and never saw was Terry Zarchi's own thoughts on the movie's impact on his life. As the title says, he grew up with this movie. When did he first see it? Was he known at school as the son of the director of I Spit on Your Grave? Did he take it personally when this movie—and by extension his father—was vilified with accusations of exploitation? He made a brief appearance in a scene as the son of Eron Tabor's character, so he would have been a teenager when the backlash reached fever pitch. His documentary's title suggests a strong identification with the movie, yet there is little personal reflection. The title promises a peak into what it was like to grow up with this, and in that area, he left me wanting.

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