Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 film Straw Dogs was an instant cause célèbre when it was released, and that reputation only grew with the dawn of the video age. It was unthinkable for many that anyone would tackle such a controversial story again, but in 2011, director Rod Lurie did just that.
Times had changed during the interim years, and attitudes towards violence – particularly sexual violence against women – have quite rightly affected how we view such subjects on screen. The notorious rape sequence in the original movie is undoubtedly hard to watch and has, if anything, increased in intensity when viewed today. The remake, while not shying away from troubling issues, doesn’t go as far as Peckinpah’s classic, but still packs quite a punch.
The original film was partially based on The Siege of Trencher’s Farm, a novel by Gordon Williams. The remake follows the film’s narrative rather than going back to the source material and relocates the action from rural southern England to Mississippi and has James Marsden (X-Men’s Cyclops) and Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns’ Lois Lane) as David and Amy Sumner. They have just moved to Amy’s hometown following the death of her father and David – a screenwriter and ‘modern guy’ – stands out like a sore finger against the rugged locals, who are all testosterone and brawn. It’s underlined how alien this town’s attitude is to his when the local bar doesn’t even stock Bud Light. He’s an amiable chap, though, even hiring Amy’s former boyfriend, Charlie (played with evil relish by True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgård) and his gang to repair the roof on their garage. Amy has done well for herself since leaving town, becoming a TV star and all eyes are on her when she returns – for more than one reason.
Amy distracts the crew while they’re at work by jogging past them in very short shorts and a tank top with no bra underneath. Nothing wrong with that in a sensible world, of course, but these are backwoods types, and there’s a palpable pressure cooker of immature hormones from the start. They are the typical jock stereotype; they’ve been on the high school football team, which was looked after by a coach, whose toxic masculinity and prejudice have not softened since leaving the position. Played brilliantly by James Woods, Coach Tom Heddon is still looked up to by the town, holding court in the pub and spouting bile and hatred. It’s not hard to understand where the younger locals’ attitudes have been nurtured. David begins by pitying them and likening them to Chinese ‘straw dogs’, thus clumsily explaining the film’s title (dogs made of straw that were ceremonially revered in ancient China but disposed of when not needed). The team working with Charlie even start taking an interest in David’s vintage – and expensive – car, admiring the engine and bodywork in the same way they’d leer at a woman.
Charlie begins a campaign of bullying and undermining of David, who’s clearly not a physical type and is easily intimidated. His cowardice even extends to Amy, as his response to the ogling she received when jogging is “Perhaps you should have worn a bra”. Charlie’s advances increase – largely influenced by his disdain for the ‘weakling’ David, but also spurred by Amy’s clumsy posturing. Flaunting herself topless in front of the group while getting changed perhaps isn’t the wisest move. What should have been her show of strength, independence, and authority are interpreted by the Neanderthal local as a come-on.
Like in the 1971 version, Amy is brutally assaulted while left alone as David is attempting to bond with the men by going hunting with them. Charlie takes the opportunity to confront Amy, assuming that she still has feelings for him. After the attack, he realises what he’s done, but when one of his friends arrives and sees the situation, he decides to rape her too. Charlie watches almost helpless and in disbelief but doesn’t attempt to help or stop it. Thankfully, we’re spared the nasty details this time. The sequence is juxtaposed with David, walking through the woods with a rifle. He’s as uncomfortable with the weapon as we are with the sexual assault. When faced with a deer, he tellingly pauses and contemplates whether he can fire the shot.
Wracked with guilt, Amy doesn’t tell David of the attack. Instead she just insists that he dismiss them. Using the excuse that the repairs are taking too long, David does this, but Charlie uses his antagonistic attitude to force David to overpay for supplies already purchased. The group are clearly happy with a lucrative payday for the little work they did. Amy, however, attempts to keep her emotions about the attack under control but things are going to boil over in this particular pot very soon anyway.
As well as being a horrible loud-mouthed bigot, Coach Haddon is the father of a 15-year-old, Janice (Willa Holland, Thea Queen in Arrow), and he’s very protective of her. Barroom banter is one thing when it comes to women, but Janice is out of bounds. Particularly when it comes to Jeremy Niles (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow’s Dominic Purcell, in a role a million miles away from what we’re used to seeing him in), a mentally-challenged man whose mental age is nearer the young girls he enjoys playing with than his own. During a big football match (the American kind, obviously), Janice – a cheerleader and older than her years – takes Jeremy into the locker room and is rather forward with him. When Haddon realises his daughter has left her post, he immediately jumps to the conclusion that it’s Jeremy that’s taken her away. Hearing the angry Haddon looking for him, he accidentally smothers Janice. Jeremy panics and dashes away from the scene, while Haddon riles up his misguided disciples to become an angry mob, the likes of which we’ve not seen since the villagers were chasing Universal’s Frankenstein monster in the forties.
Things get worse as David knocks down Jeremy in his car as they are leaving, and take him back to their house to attempt to get help, but Charlie hears the call on his police scanner, and it’s not long before the mob are heading their way. As they descend on David and Amy’s place, it’s clear these people are a law unto themselves. David must step up to protect his wife, and he’s pushed to do things he wouldn’t even write in his screenplays. The siege is only substantial element transferred from the book on which it was based, and although it’s not as shocking as the 1971 version, there’s still a lot of brutality and disturbing moments.
Away from the exploitation angle (which isn’t as prevalent in Lurie’s version), the film poses a genuine psychological dilemma: how far do you have to be pushed before you break, and even more disturbingly, to what lengths will you go to protect those you love. In David’s case, he’s not just protecting his wife, but the life of someone who could have committed a horrendous crime. We’re used to seeing backwoods yokels being depicted as murderous inbreeds, but here they are all victims of a distorted patriarchal upbringing. It’s like the false cover of religion excusing many indiscretions. It’s something we see in real life the world over, and it’s hard ever to find a reason to excuse it. However it continues, and arguably, is getting worse in some cultures. The dichotomy of morals and emotion is strong on both sides here, though. Such as even though Charlie knows he has done wrong by attacking Amy, his upbringing doesn’t allow him to change or be a better person. The culture of the bully is a hard one to break, or so it would seem.
It’s unfair to dismiss Lurie’s version of Straw Dogs as ‘just another cash-in remake’ as there is plenty to recommend it, and providing you don’t spend the whole time comparing notes with the original, you’ll find it’s a completely engaging, utterly horrifying, and deeply disturbing film in its own right.
You can catch STRAW DOGS on Horror Channel . Tune in on Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 70, Freesat 138.
