Straw Dogs

Rod Lurie has made a first-rate film of psychological warfare, and yes, I thought it was better than Peckinpah's. Marsden, Bosworth and Skarsgard are all persuasive, and although James Woods has played a lot of evil men during his career, this one may be the scariest. more

Straw Dogs is an artful provocation - a meditation on masculinity and societal mores in the guise of an explosive thriller. more

While Lurie could have gone lighter on the symbolism, he ratchets up the tension with deft intelligence. He's not just making a thriller but a horror film, and we feel his own fear in every scene. more

Although the moral ambiguity of Straw Dogs has been softened in the remake, the message and the forceful way in which it is delivered remain the same. more

Even by today's standards, some scenes are jaw-dropping in their bloodshed. To that end, Lurie accomplishes some of what Peckinpah evoked 40 years ago. more

Peckinpah rubbed our noses in the bloodlust. Lurie invites objectivity. He gets strong, complex performances from actors who won't be painted into corners. more

More damaging is Lurie's conspicuous "red state" rant, as he makes sure that every prominent guy in this film - save for the screenwriter and the black sheriff - fits all of the Southern stereotypes. That doesn't make it a bad movie, just one that is something less than Peckinpah's original. more

As it turns out, though, the most troubling part of the film for me wasn't the rape scene, or the siege scene or the Southern stereotypes. Rather, it was the audience's reaction to Marsden's chilling spasms of bloody violence as he defends his home. Rather than breaking out in hives, many in the audience broke out in laughter. more

There's no matching the sinister village faces in Peckinpah's cast or the psychological acuity of his scene-making, but Lurie shows himself man enough for the material. more

The original "Straw Dogs," at least to me, isn't close to being one of Peckinpah's masterpieces, but it's a movie that the people who first saw it still remember 40 years later. I doubt that anyone will remember the new one by next month. more

Probably one of the most misunderstood tales of vigilantism ever brought to the screen. By reputation it is known for the rape scene and the glorified violence, neither of which are really analyzed properly. Sam Peckinpah constructed this movie very carefully, creating a specific mood and visual style. This isn't another Death Wish or Taxi Driver, mainly because there's no hero present. Every character has an extremely vile side to them, we just see some more than others. The local Brits are all obviously antagonizing drunks, but in the end Dustin Hoffman's David proves to be just as bad.... more

The movie lacks stuff that can encourage me to recommend it to anyone. Not that its an absolute trash, or not the least watchable. Its okay to kill time if you've nothing better to do. Except for a few moments of guilty pleasure (no, I'm not talking about the rape scene, you dirty minds; I'm talking about the fun those pricks have while attacking the house after the church function), there was hardly anything engaging. While Hoffman was exceptional, the rest of the cast was okay. more

Peckinpah's unsettling retelling of retaliation and rites of passage is a collected, masterful stroke of cinema that steadies itself, never losing sight of what it wants to tell us, as it gradually heightens its tension and provocation of the audience. Its central character's isolation becomes much more than a distanced foreigner, but a man emasculated - forced to prove his worth to those around him, where smarts become blurred with wits and courage fades away for brawn. The film is sprayed with Peckinpah's detailed eye for tempered realism, and Hoffman's implosive David - a force of man... more

Bloody Sam webs an unnerving and near perfect psychological thriller. A film that deals with the rites of manhood, the qualities and attributes conventionally thought to be appropriate to a man, especially physical strength or guts, which David Sumner (impressive Dustin Hoffman) doesn't have of course, until the end, when he'll have to face his offenders and start a blooshed in order to preserve his life, wife and possessions. more

David Sumner: Ok, you've had your fun. I'll give you one more chance, and if you don't clear out now, there'll be real trouble. I mean it. Despite having an awesome poster, this is a slow moving film that only builds up to a pacifist being pushed too far and using violence to rid himself of his threats. Still, Dustin Hoffman is very good and Peckinpah's direction is solid. Hoffman and Susan George star as a young married couple who have moved to the English countryside, in order for Hoffman's mathematician character to have peace while he writes his book. While they try to live in their... more

Straw Dogs has been very high up on my "movies to see" list ever since I've had one, and I'm sure glad I finally got around to it tonight - as it's very likely the best thriller I've ever seen. Dustin Hoffman plays David Summer, a young, sheepish American mathematician who moves to rural England to live with his British wife, Amy (Susan George), and faces escalating harassment from a particular group of boorish locals. In addition to another amazing early performance from Hoffman (this film was made a few years after The Graduate), and the tight script, Straw Dogs displays some truly... more