Five Memorable, Horrific Movie Castrations

This year “I Spit on Your Grave” was given a deluxe box set on Blu-Ray and 4K allowing fans a new vision for what is easily one of the most upsetting, polarizing, and controversial films ever made. The Meir Zarchi film that popularized the volatile sub-genre rape-revenge films has spawned dozens of cinematic carbon copies (along with infamous bile from Roger Ebert), and features one of the most notorious castration scenes ever depicted. In commemoration of “I Spit in Your Grave” being released to fans yet again, I thought I’d sound off five of some of the more grotesque movie castrations ever filmed.

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V for Vendetta (2006) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray/Digital]

Based on Alan Moore’s influential graphic novel, “V for Vendetta” is a movie that’s managed to carry much of his influence in to film form. Despite his usual protests and dismissal of the big screen adaptation, “V for Vendetta” is a richly developed action thriller with immense substance and still relevant commentary about fascism. It’s stunning with James McTeigue and the Wachowskis manage to accomplish with such an engaging adaptation.

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Sensitive New Age Killer (2000)

Director Savage has all the elements to create a film that’s gritty, grimy, contemporary and rich in texture, and yet, all we really receive is a film that’s just pretty good with a tone Savage can never seem to decide on at any instance. “Sensitive New Age Killer” wants to be many things at many times, and when it touches on all squares on the genre floor, it never seems to touch them with full satisfaction.

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Seis días en la Oscuridad (2003)

Director Gabrial Soriano’s “Seis días en la Oscuridad” is yet another of the many commentaries on a society that’s dominated by kidnappings for the purposes of profit. In a land where employment is slim, kidnappings are almost a way of life there, almost mundane. And a way to use that method to pull someone out of hot water eventually snowballs in to endless bouts of shit hitting the fan.

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Sonny Chiba’s Dragon Princess (1976)

Yutaka Kohira’s “Sonny Chiba’s Dragon Princess” (Or “Dragon Princess,” or “Lady Karate,” or “Assassin Woman’s Fist”) is a misleading title often being boasted as a Sonny Chiba film, even though he has nothing more than a glorified cameo. The actual star, Etsuko Shiomi headlines as a girl whose father Agaki (Chiba) is confronted by two martial arts masters who challenge him to a fight, intent on taking his position as top karate master.

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Haunt (2019) [Blu-Ray]

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ horror film is like one big Halloween treat that comes at just the right time. It’s a novelty, it’s occasionally silly, but it’s also extra creepy in that it takes much of its menace from the inherent dangers of Halloween that lurk in every corner of the holiday. “Haunt” isn’t particularly original, but when you get down to the meat and potatoes, it’s surely a lot of fun and garners shockingly empathetic protagonists, all of whom are never let off the hook from the moment they enter the danger of this enigmatic haunt.

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Fan Theory: Roy Burns is possessed by Jason Voorhees in “A New Beginning”

There’s some supernatural element in “Friday the 13th” that doesn’t fully reveal itself until “Jason Lives.” Before that, Jason was more of a mortal superhuman capable of being killed and he is presumably stopped in “The Final Chapter.” In Danny Steinmann’s “A New Beginning,” Jason is definitely dead and Tommy has difficulty moving on as he’s haunted by Jason’s image time and time again. Since the fifth film apparently still takes place in the town of Crystal Lake, Tommy is still facing the trauma of battling Jason, even though it’s established he’s buried.

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