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Overall Rating : 6.5/10
Directed By : Rod Lurie
James Marsden (Hairspray (2007)
Kate Bosworth (Wonderland)
Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood (TV) )
James Woods (Casino)
Supplied By : Sony Pictures
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : January. 09, 2012
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| PLOT A young couple moves to a quaint southern town. Soon their perfect getaway turns out to become a living hell when dark secrets and lethal passions spiral out of control. Trapped by a pack of depraved locals led by a ruthless predator, they face a night of agonizing suffering and endless bloodshed. Now their only hope for survival is to become more savage than their merciless torturers. |
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| THE REVIEW In this 2011 update, David Sumner, a Hollywood screenwriter, along with his actress wife, Amy, movie to Amy's childhood home in Blackwater Alabama. David hopes to use the quiet Southern surroundings as a place that he can relax while writing his next script, a 1940s war epic, Seemingly immediately following their arrival, the town is smitten by hometown girl, Amy - especially her ex-High School boyfriend Charlie, who quickly offers to restore the roof on the Sumners' barn. The offer is a bit of a surprise, but David agrees. But plans don't go as plan when Charlie's crew show up to early, among other things. Tension builds when Charlie begins to once again obsess over Amy, which leads to a number of altercations between the Sumners and the locals. All of this reaches it's end, when David and Amy one night unknowingly take in Jeremy Niles, a mentally handicapped man, who has just accidentally killed a local girl by the name of Janice Heddon. This leads to Janice's dad Tom, Charlie and a gang of locals to gather at the Sumner's home. But when David and Amy refuse to let them have Niles, the men outside wage war, an incident that ends in the couple fighting to survive a game of death. The 1971 original version of STRAW DOGS directed by controversial filmmaker, Sam Peckinpah, is one of those films that has a strong cult following. It is a following that takes offense if someone dislikes the film, let alone dare to remake it. But that is exactly what happened with this film. This modern retelling directed by Director, Rod Lurie, retains the spirit of the original, while simultaneously making the tale more modern. This film also exchanges the English countryside, for the American south, in a town that is stereotypical, yet realistic, seeing as the town is all about football and fallen heroes of the field. The structure of both films remain virtually untouched, as everything one sees in the 1971 original, they will again see in this 2011 update, the only change being the setting in which they occur. Personally, I came away from this film rather pleased, and dare I say that I actually liked this film more than the original. If you refer to my review of the original film, which was posted a few months back, you'd note that with a good majority of the film, I found myself quite bored, and that I felt that it wasn't until the final minutes that things started to get interesting. The remake gets off to a similar start itself, however I found that it wasn't too bad, which might be because I particularly am a fan of Kate Bosworth, and the chemistry shared by she and James Marsden is, for the lack of a better word, "fun". While some of the tension is of the same type that we usually see in movies featuring vengeful rednecks, there are some moments in the film in which the tension feels truly genuine, especially during its final act...the "siege". if you will. For me, the film's closing moments were the real highlight, as the aforementioned siege capped things off with emotion and triumph. Fans of the '71 original have already been quick to bash the original, yet when it comes down to the facts, the original does nothing to tarnish Peckinpah's original. In fact, if anything, I feel that it shows respect for its predecessor by staying close to the source material while not necessarily being a shot-for-shot carbon copy of the original The original film is clearly one(and this is my opinion, mind you) that takes itself too seriously, although I will say that there are moments that are far more suspenseful there than what can be found in this one. The most glaring example being the rape of Amy. In the original, I felt that it had a harsher tone, although this film shows about as much. And another thing, in the original, after awhile, it is clear that Amy is actually enjoying the sex in some strange way. For this film, that has been changed, but it is to good effect, as it leaves Amy dramatized, only to make her more brave. The remake actually sees Amy more or less lead the charge when it comes to she and David's attack on the locals. This, in my op0inion was a nice change, as it totally made sense. And then it it is an even further example of how these two films are different. No that I have seen this new incarnation, again, I don't understand all of the hate that this film is getting. Yes, it has typical southern stereotypes and all that, but in all actuality, all it is is virtually the same exact story, except that the plot has been dropped into a new environment, and if anything, it is nothing more than a looser interpretation of the plot. As I touched on earlier, the performances by the leads, James Marsden ("David Sumner") and Kate Bosworth ("Amy Sumner") are get to watch as the married couple who soon find themselves in a fight for their lives. Alexander Skarsgård leads the villains as Amy's High School beau, "Charlie". The "True Blood" star, Skarsgård delivers a great villain performance. Throughout the film he is able to "turn off the crazy" so to speak, and various times, but when he turns it on, it's cold and chilling. Other performances that standout come from James Woods("Tom Heddon"), as the father of the slain girl, Janice(Willa Holland). and Dominic Purcell as "Jeremy Niles". To sum it up, I kind of liked STRAW DOGS(2011). There is no scientific explanation for it, I just did for what ever reasons. Although this is indeed the case, I still believe that it is still far from perfect, instead it is just a harmless, enjoyable effort that is faithful to it's source. |
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| GORE
METER 5.5/10 Nails in hands, shot gun blast to foot, as well as body, gunshot wounds, a head caught in a bear trap, and other blood splatter. |
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MUSICAL
SCORE 6/10 Again, sticking close to the original the film has a prominent orchestrated score. I felt that the score fit this film quite nicely. | ||||
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Going into this film, I didn't expect to be blown away by the film, after all, it is a remake. But I did hope to at least enjoy this one more than I did the original, and I did to a certain extent. I'm not one of those film fans that like only the current films, in fact, I tend to side with originals over remakes, however, with STRAW DOGS, I just can't buy into the hype. i'm just not a diehard fan. Give this film a shot, whether you have seen the original previously or not. This is definitely one of those "love it or hate it" affairs. |
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