Straw Dogs

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Straw Dogs

R

Released Sep 16, 2011

1h 50m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

42%

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125 Reviews

34%

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10,000+ Ratings

Married couple David (James Marsden) and Amy (Kate Bosworth) move to her hometown of Blackwater, Miss., after her father's death. They have a plan to renovate Amy's old home and prepare it for sale while David works on his latest screenplay. However, the sophisticated couple's arrival stirs resentment and suspicion among the locals, especially from Charlie (Alexander Skarsgård), Amy's former boyfriend. Tension continues to build, leading to an extremely violent confrontation.

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Critics Consensus

This remake streamlines the plot but ultimately makes a fatal mistake: It celebrates violence.

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Keith Uhlich

Time Out

What in the Sam Peckinpah Hill is this?!?

Rated: 1/5

Nov 17, 2011

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

It isn't badly made, but what's the point of rebooting Straw Dogs, if the only object is to repackage it, and make it marginally less offensive?

Rated: 2/5

Nov 3, 2011

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Robbie Collin

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Rod Lurie has adapted with intelligence...

Rated: 3/5

Nov 3, 2011

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

A wholly unnecessary Hollywood treatment of Sam Peckinpah’s unsettling and controversial 1971 original.

Rated: 2/4

Mar 8, 2023

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

It's a testament to the power of the story (Sam Peckinpah's adaptation of Gordon Williams' novel) that the 2011 remake is still entertaining despite its numerous shortcomings.

Rated: 6/10

Nov 30, 2020

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

The film is really carried by Alexander Skarsgard's incredibly disturbing turn.

Rated: 3.0/4.0

Sep 24, 2020

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Oaklee D

Didn't find this film remotely interesting, turned it off over half way through. I tried I really did but it just did nothing for me and James Marsden will forever be that stupid prince off of Enchanted to me no matter how many serious roles he does.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/16/24

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Alec B

An American set remake of the original could work but this ain't it. The provocative ambiguity is gone and, even more perplexing, this one seems to yearn for the violent finale as righteous retribution rather than the desperate bad vibes found in the same ending of Pekinpah's original. Also you're going to remake "Straw Dogs" 40 years later and pull your punches? Unacceptable.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/28/24

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Steve D

Better than the original. Still and exploitive and gross.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/14/23

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Audience Member

This is just a straw of fun mess in the kitchen sink...

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

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Audience Member

The motivation is there but this film really does not execute well. The ending is brutal but does not make up for the rest of the movie.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Director Rod Lurie tries to channel and improve upon Peckinpah and fails spectacularly. He lacks both the fire and the subtlety of the iconic director, and remaking one of his films displays Lurie's ineptitude.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

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Rod Lurie

Director

James Marsden

David Sumner

Kate Bosworth

Amy Sumner

Alexander Skarsgård

Charlie

James Woods

Tom Heddon

Dominic Purcell

Jeremy Niles

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Synopsis

Married couple David (James Marsden) and Amy (Kate Bosworth) move to her hometown of Blackwater, Miss., after her father's death. They have a plan to renovate Amy's old home and prepare it for sale while David works on his latest screenplay. However, the sophisticated couple's arrival stirs resentment and suspicion among the locals, especially from Charlie (Alexander Skarsgård), Amy's former boyfriend. Tension continues to build, leading to an extremely violent confrontation.

Director: Rod Lurie
Producer: Marc Frydman
Screenwriter: Rod Lurie
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co: Battleplan Productions
Rating: R (Menace|A Sexual Attack|Pervasive Language|Some Sexual Content|Strong Brutal Violence)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 16, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 12, 2014
Runtime: 1h 50m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS

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