Despite the controversy and negative reviews, the performance of Camille Keaton was praised by critics. For some, it is this controversy which has led to it being deemed a cult classic. The film remains highly controversial to this day, even being considered to be one of the worst films ever made. As such, film critic Roger Ebert became one of the most notable detractors of the film, calling it 'a vile bag of garbage'. During its wider release, it was branded a ' video nasty' in the United Kingdom, and was a target of censorship by film commissioning bodies.
The film is noted for its controversial depiction of extreme graphic violence, particularly the lengthy depictions of gang rape, that take up 30 minutes of the film's runtime. The film tells the story of Jennifer Hills ( Camille Keaton), a fiction writer based in New York City who exacts revenge on each of her tormentors after four men gang rape and leave her for dead. I Spit on Your Grave (originally titled Day of the Woman) is a 1978 American rape and revenge film edited, written, and directed by Meir Zarchi.
