Stars: James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgard, James Woods
Running time: 109 mins
Rating: 2/5

IN 1971, Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs sparked a wide-ranging debate about violence in cinema and the depiction of women. Now Rod Lurie writes and directs this remake, transplanting the emotional turmoil from a close-knit community in Cornwall to rural Mississippi.

The unlikely hero is no longer a nerdy mathematician but a screenwriter (James Marsden), while the rest of the plot remains largely untouched including the harrowing sexual assault and a violent final showdown that includes one man being covered in boiling oil.

In Lurie’s version, however, the female protagonist (Kate Bosworth) seems to be more proactive in helping her husband fend off the men who lay siege to their home.

Screenwriter David Sumner (James Marsden) transplants his entire life from Hollywood to the Deep South after his actress wife Amy (Kate Bosworth) loses her father. The town of Blackwater appears to be warm and welcoming although Amy’s ex-boyfriend Charlie (Alexander Skarsgard) is lurking around.

A shocking act of brutality lights the fuse on a powder keg of emotions involving former football coach Tom Heddon (James Woods) and mentally challenged local man Jeremy (Dominic Purcell). David and Amy are caught in the crossfire.

Review: Damon Smith