Description: Meir Zarchi's I Spit On Your Grave (1978) is of the most controversial films ever made--both condemned as misogynistic and praised for raising uncomfortable issues about sexual violence. David Maguire investigates the historical, social, and political landscape of the film's release and how it has become ground zero for the rape-revenge genre.
Brief description: David Maguire (MA, Film Studies, University of Bradford) is a programmer and researcher for the Leeds International Film Festival and a communications manager for the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency. He has presented a paper on I Spit on Your Grave at the Cine-Excess international film festival and an examination of the political interpretations of the same film and its sequels at the University of Canterbury's Exploitation Cinema in the 21st Century symposium, and has also presented papers on zombie films and the representation of women in modern rape-revenge films at conferences run by the Universities of Leeds, Bradford, and Sheffield.
Review Quotes: Maguire comes across as bright and personable, clever and focused without ever wallowing in jargon, and perhaps most importantly of all, aware that ISOYG is not a perfect film whilst still eminently worth of a closer look. A well-written piece of work, the book could easily reward fans as much as students and it's well worth a place on the shelf.--Keri O'Shea "Warped Perspective"