No Moriré Sola (I’ll Never Die Alone)
April 3rd 2009 00:29
I Spit On Your Grave (1978) is one of the most notorious rape-revenge movies ever made. It’s also a reprehensible movie where director Meir Zarchi wallows in the degradation of the woman far more so than her revenge. In fact the gang rape goes on for thirty minutes! It's deeply nasty with no redeeming features apart from a memorable title (re-named from the dreadful Day of the Woman) and a sensational poster design (albeit completely fabricated with virtually no resemblance to the movie in image or description).
The point of no return
The faces of evil
Andrea Duarte as Moira and Gimena Blesa as Carol
After Yasmin is abducted the remaining three, in a state of shock, manage to trudge through the undergrowth until they reach an abandoned cottage. But the nightmare isn’t over. The three men surprise them and further shocking violence ensues. The uniformed sergeant arrives, but he is entirely ineffectual. It’s up to Leonar and Moira, who’ve become almost mute through shock and steely determination, to settle the score.
Nothing more terrifying than a rapist-policeman
From the movie’s opening credits sequence you can immediately feel the intensity of the film’s atmosphere of dread. The credits scroll upwards and the title fills the screen in stark black lettering over a low-angle tracking shot across a narrow blacktop. The director – in a moment of pure and curious self-indulgence – even runs a long list of inspirational sources including many horror, exploitation and arty transgressive movies and directors.
Moira and Leonar (Marisol Tur) aim for vengeance
Leonar and Moira listen to the sound of the boars finishing their score
I’ll Never Die Alone is not for the easily offended. Like Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45 (1981, aka Angel of Vengeance), it's harrowing and leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth, but you can’t help but admire the unbridled tone and atmospheric execution of the nightmare.
Here's the teaser trailer:
And here's a morally dubious International teaser trailer from the stats department:
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Comment by Paul Robson
Midnight Flickers
I still struggle with the graphic nature of rape scenes in films of this ilk. Not because I find them particularly shocking, just rather unnecessary. Sometimes I feel extreme cinema uses sexual violence as a way to gain extra notoriety, rather than for any real artistic merit. I know it was integral to this film to convey a sense of the explicitly brutal and sadistic nature of the evildoers, but it could have been conveyed with a little more restraint perhaps...
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Thanks, and yeah, perhaps I was being a little "lenient" in my review, only because a lot of the artistic side of the movie impressed me more than I was expecting for a movie of this nature ... But yes I agree that the sexual assault was gratuitous. Can the same thing be argued against Irreversible? ... Is the graphic shooting of Murphy in RoboCop gratuitous? Where is the line drawn? How important is context?
Comment by Anonymous
Hey,
I also just saw NO MORIRE SOLA at the Night of Horror fest, in Perth, last week (it was double billed with 4 Lovecraft short films, in an odd move that would have probably had HPL running screaming from the cinema!)
I've never seen I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, and I find rape very squick-worthy, so I watched NMS with some reservations; but in the end, I'm glad I did. Yes, the rape scenes were brutal and confronting, but I think that's the point- rape is a horrible thing and it's not something that a movie goer is supposed to be titillated by. I was a bit put off by the camera lingering on the naked bodies of the women but just glancing over those of the men, however. But the film really kicked into gear once the women reached the hunting lodge, and became very suspenseful and ultimately uplifting- the steely-eyed looks in the faces of the two women out for revenge, and their revenge itself, had people cheering in my cinema (especially the porcine finale). I do doubt this will garner a dvd release in Oz, which is a shame, as it's a fine film.
btw- did the copy you see seem oddly washed out in places? Particularly in the forest sequences, it sometimes looked as though the film was an old vhs dub...
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Yeah, the director purposefully shot the movie with a washed-out palette to capture that 70s feel. Personally I loved the way it looked.
A question; curious as to whether you're male or female?
Comment by Anonymous
I'm Gavin from West Australia. I was a man last time I checked *g*.
I have indeed seen IRREVERSIBLE and the rape scene was totally repellent (though I had no problems with the fire extinguisher bludgeoning!) I also had trouble watching the scenes in the HILLS HAVE EYES remake in which rape is used as a weapon. I guess rape is just one of my squickpoints- gore certainly isn't!
I would have been more "comfortable" with the female nudity in I'LL NEVER... if there'd been some equal opportunity male nudity to go with it; but I still thought the film was an interesting experience; especially the revenge part...Your text goes here
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile