I don't know what it is about film trying to steer city people from the country, but they sure do try hard in film with Deliverance to Straw Dogs. I have to admit, I've never seen the original Straw Dogs, and I am ashamed as I've heard it's a good movie. Just never had the opportunity to see it, but hopefully that'll change soon since it looks really interesting. So I can't compare the original with the remake just yet. But I think that's pretty fair to judge on since I heard that this is a bit different from the original with the setting. This time it takes place in the country. I visited Idaho a few years ago to meet my ex's family, I'm a born and raised Chi-Town girl, very city, but when I went to Idaho, I thought it wouldn't be a big deal. Apparently I was very wrong, I felt like I was in a different country, people are different and it's a bit scary the way they look at you as I'm sure my ex felt with the city being a little more isolated being in a busy place where people don't notice each other. Whole point to this story is that it's amazing how scary it can be being from a city or from the south and not knowing your surroundings is scary enough as it is, Straw Dogs explores that terror to the enth degree.
David Sumner and his wife and TV actress Amy, move to Mississippi, where Amy grew up, to rebuild Amy's recently deceased father's house, and so that David can finish a script. David meets Amy's ex-boyfriend Charlie and his friends, whom he hires to fix the house's roof, which was recently destroyed by a tornado. Charlie and his friends begin taunting David, who is initially condescending to their customs. The taunting escalates into harassment as they make crude remarks towards Amy and play loud music to annoy David and prevent him from working on his screenplay. The taunting gets more and more threatening leading to physical violence. The boys taunt that David is not a man, but they may want to be careful on pushing him too far.
Today with horror films, we have torture * such as Saw and Hostel. I may have not seen the original Straw Dogs, but I'm sure that the deaths were not as dramatic as they were in this film. I felt that the extreme violence really took away from the film. First off I'm guessing that I'm supposed to take this movie realistically, so why would this smart guy murder the southerners so viciously? Granted he has a witness that could back him up and say it was self defense, but I'm pretty sure the police are going to look at a bear trap over the head as a bit extreme. I know that the audience wants the entertainment, but I think this was a bit too over the top with the gore factor.
But the film does have some perks, the whole setting is horrific. Being isolated from the city is scary where you're used to having everything at your fingertips, but not knowing where to go for help is horrible. Alexander Skarsgård takes a break from True Blood, somewhat with the over southerness, and makes a great creeper. James Marsden does an alright job as David, though he plays him very blandly so honestly I really didn't care much for his character. Kate Bosworth did alright, but again her character is kinda on the mean girl level, so I don't really care for her as well. James Woods, what can I say? He's James Woods, he's always a pleasure to watch on the screen and does give his best to the character. Is the film scary? In some ways yes with it's atmosphere and fear of the unknown, not knowing what these crazy boys would do next could be a bit creepy. But also since most of the characters were a bit dull, it took away any sympathy you could have for them. The film is certainly flawed but I don't think it was terrible, they gave a good effort for the most part. I would just say that this is a rental and now I'm going to get my butt in gear and get the original Straw Dogs.
5/10
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