Bob An I am not sure why this film has an average below 9 and do not understand people who gave this film one or two stars...The film is entertaining and keeps your attention from the beginning to the end - and what an end! I loved the atmosphere of the film, which is kinda uncomfortable and eerie in a way... Don't know why but that was the main plus for this film, alonside really great roles of 2 leading men and the girl too ( who, I must say, looks so much like Jessica Simpson - that I though it was her in the 1st scene in the car).I read that this is a remake. I did not watch the original nor I read the book, but this one was really great for me, so I do not have a wish to spoil it with something else.I give it rating 9, though, precisely it would be 8.6.Do watch the film and do not pay too much attention to negative reviews in a way to keep you off. See for yourself, I am sure you will enjoy it.

bowmanblue There are remakes and there are remakes. Granted, right now in Hollywood, you can't step on a celebrity star without tripping over a remake, but, sometimes they can work. Sometimes. If a film was made a while back that had a decent idea, but, for whatever reason, couldn't be truly realised, then why not give it a modern day makeover? Then you have the other kind of remakes.Straw Dogs is a remake of an ultra violent seventies movie about a man and woman who move into a new home in Cornwall, only to run into trouble with the locals. In the remake, the action has been moved to America, but the plot is basically the same.If you know what to expect then you're waiting for the violence to finally kick off. It does, eventually, but not before well over an hour of 'build up.' This build up shows us how the young, nice, happy couple completely ignore all warning signs that they have a town full of redneck psychos all around them until it's too late and the afford-mentioned psychos are throwing bricks through their window and trying to lynch them.The originally Straw Dogs was only famous (or rather infamous) for its violence. Since then, we've seen far worse gore and brutality on screen and remaking it (quite faithfully to be fair) seems a little pointless. There isn't enough gore to keep the 'gore-fiends' happy. It's too slow to be classed as a psychological thriller. And the characters are too stupid to know what's coming until it's too late.I think, if this was the first incarnation of Straw Dogs, it might be called a 'home invasion' film. However, the fact that there are other films out there which have already secured that particular niche genre, makes this one even less original. Funny Games, The Strangers, that British one that I watched and completely forgot its name - all of those have beaten the Straw Dogs remake to the punch, However, if you're a fan of Kate Bosworth and like the idea of watching her running around in not very many clothes for the whole film, then you might get something out of it.

Coventry For the first time ever, I was completely unbiased to watch a remake! Usually Hollywood always has the god-awful and annoying habit of remaking personal favorite horror/cult movies of mine that are already impeccable and not really suitable for improvement, but regarding "Straw Dogs" I felt a lot less concerned since I never was a die-hard admirer of Sam Peckinpah's original from 1971. Surely I acknowledge its importance and influence for the genre, but still mainly consider it to be a deeply unpleasant movie that all too enthusiastically glorifies senseless violence and somehow spreads the message that every man needs to undergo a couple of rape and violence rituals in order to become a real man. "Straw Dogs" 2011 also isn't just any random remake from an aspiring young director who desperately needed an obvious jumping board to success, but by the intelligent writer/director Rod Lurie. He inserted a couple of relevant changes (like the geographical transfer from redneck Southern England to redneck Southern United States) and efficiently put the emphasis on in-depth character development. There's still a fair portion of harsh violence and misogynic brutality in this version, mind you, but at least it's depicted in a lot less gratuitous and joyous way. The infamous rape sequence, for example, still evokes debates regarding provocation but at least the script doesn't all too obviously endorse the so-called 'rape-myth' that all women secretly desire to be physically dominated. The rest of the plot remains the same as well (also because it's a book adaption, of course) and thus focuses on a successful couple temporarily moving to the girl's hometown in Southern Mississippi. The (re-)integration in this traditional and underdeveloped community leads to embarrassing situations for the husband and humiliating confrontations for the wife, as her former boyfriend Charlie and his gang of tough huntsmen penetrate themselves into their lives. Things come to a bloody climax when David and Amy want to prevent the locals from executing private justice. "Straw Dogs" effectively bathes in grim and unsettling atmosphere and hugely benefices from the performances. James Marsden and Kate Bosworth are excellent, but particularly the local hillbillies are portrayed in a disturbingly realistic matter. Amongst them also the always reliable James Woods as a hellish football coach. Also, respecting the rules of cinema, there's some fuzz about a bear claw rather early in the film, so you just know this particularly gruesome and inventive murder instrument will be back in the finale as well.PS: lovely soundtrack with, amongst others, the wondrous ballad "Summer Wine" by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood. I hadn't heard that song in years, but I now instantly added it to my play lists again.

SeamusMacDuff I have not seen the original, but in comparison or on its own this is one poor film. Virtually every character is unlikeable, its full of stereotypes, and there are plot holes so big you can drive all their pickup trucks through. Almost everyone is miscast: Marsden isn't wimpy enough, Bosworth isn't sexy enough, Skarsgard isn't menacing enough, and Woods is totally unbelievable.Why doesn't she tell her husband she was raped? Why does her ex-boyfriend rapist let his buddy rape her too? Why does the coach go insane just because he can't find his daughter, to the point he kills the sheriff? Why is he in the middle of nowhere (no phone service) trying to write a non-fiction book? Surely that may require research. Why does the husband fight back on behalf of a barely known acquaintance?Avoid this film.