Day of the Woman (1978)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Jennifer Hills	Camille Keaton
Johnny	Eron Tabor	½
Matthew Lucas	Richard Pace
Stanley	Anthony Nichols
Andy	Gunter Kleeman

Review

This cult classic is notorious for being banned in a number of countries worldwide (including Norway) at its rerelease in 1980/81, and for being dubbed "the worst movie ever made" by critic Roger Ebert. Seen in retrospect, however, the film's (s)exploitation quality is less prominent than its reputation would suggest. Although he's a somewhat bumpy director, Meir Zarchi arguably had a thematic motivation with this film, even if it isn't very subtle throughout. The cruelty and horror of rape is effectively and daringly portrayed, and the objective is obviously not to glorify violence against women, as some contemporary critics seem to have fooled themselves into thinking. Still, Zarchi's punchline (if you like) is spelled out and overdone - both physically and thematically. At an artistic level, the film would have gained largely from not being tied to the horror conventions, but then again, Zarchi wouldn't have been able to kick as hard, surprisingly and liberatingly (he seems to think) as he did. Bear in mind that this film, after all, was made in the classic vigilante era of Hollywood. The acting is surprisingly useful, even if the characters are incredibly stupid - especially when the movie's dichotomy hasn't given them the upper hand.