As David tries to get aclimated to his new surroundings, he's quickly pit against a group of protective locals. While Hollywood might view the Straw Dogs storyline, which is based on the 1969 novel, 'The Siege of Trencher's Farm' by British author Gordon Williams, as provocative - it's actually a pretty basic setup. David Sumner (James Marsden), who is a Hollywood screenwriter, and his wife, Amy (Kate Bosworth) leave the big city behind to spend some time in Amy's Southern hometown - following the death of her father. Instead, Straw Dogs 2011 seems to favor slasher film-like 'heroes' and 'villains' with paper thin 'he's not like us' motivations. Before the remake even gets started it's already at a disadvantage, since the subtle change of location and less complicated protagonist pair strips the film of the unseen tensions that made the original so compelling.

Unfortunately Lurie's Straw Dogs is a mess of a film that does little more than rely on graphic violence as well as outdated stereotypes to keep the tension high. As previously alluded to, the original Straw Dogs storyline offered a much more compelling setup (with a number of factors to play on: socio-economic and nationality differences as well as significant disfunction in the couple's relationship).

Does the change up pay off and make for a more relatable (and modern) psychological horror film or does Lurie strip an already thin plot of any substantial weight and potential enjoyment? In an attempt to put his own stamp on the 'lovers under siege' story, Lurie ditched the rural English setting, and subsequent international complexities, of the original for small town America. Reimagining Sam Peckinpah's 1971 film, Straw Dogs (which starred a young Dustin Hoffman), is Rod Lurie, a name most moviegoers will recognize as the writer/director/producer responsible for The Last Castle and Resurrecting the Champ. Now we can officially add Straw Dogs to the list of story ideas that Hollywood studio executives hope will enjoy a fruitful double dip. We've seen blockbuster franchises built on 80's nostalgia, board games and countless remakes of recognizable, as well as some not-so-recognizable, existing films.

Original ideas are somewhat hard to come by these days - especially in Hollywood. Screen Rant's Ben Kendrick reviews Straw Dogs

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