Review of Day of the Woman (1978) by Justin B — 23 Feb 2011

A film that along with the Driller Killer, Cannibal Holocaust and The Last House on The Left is hailed as being responsible for the Video Nasty debate in the UK. ISOYG actually defies the sexist accusations surrounding it when Jennifer sails across the lake at the end, which suggests that she is the survivor/victor. There is no trace of the male rapists gaining any merit from the brutality found within the dialogue and actions of this film, despite the fact it fueled more than one late night session at censorship boards around the world. There are actually worse and more offensive films out there!

Gorehounds may be a little let down by the display here, but all male spectators will be forever haunted by the line "I can't stop the bleeding" after the scene in the bath tub. It's a classic and hard to watch for us men, but watching Jennifer sit back and listen to classical music with the screams above her coming from the castrated rapist in the bathroom brings a somewhat relieving smile to my face. The real hard part to watch though is at the beginning when Jennifer is gang raped by four men after arriving in the country to write her first novel. After kidnapping her the men take her into the woods where each takes turn to viciously molest her. After each rape they allow her to escape only to catch up with her and molest once more. They are some of the most disturbing scenes I have ever witnessed in film and I could not see how anyone could want to sit back and watch those moment ever again.

This is a hard film to say is AWESOME. Rape is not AWESOME, it is depraved and sick. Zarchi's ISOYG is one of the first in cinema to successfully reflect that.