Grade: D+
The original “Straw Dogs,” released in 1971 and directed by the American master of violence, Sam Peckinpah, is a controversial classic. Its extreme bloodshed led to widespread criticism, but it stands today as an acclaimed, thought-provoking piece on violence and its perpetrators. This remake must have Peckinpah rolling over in his grave. Director Rod Lurie seems incapable of handling the symbolism present in the original, and the best sequences in the remake are lifted shot-for-shot from the 1971 version. Star James Marsden does his best, but an unconvincing, faux-Southerner performance from James Woods doesn’t help. The remake’s fatal mistake is simple — rather than prompting a discussion on violence, as the original did, the new “Straw Dogs” just glorifies it.
 
____
Contact Joey Groner at [email protected]