Straw Dogs.

Director Rod Lurie is aware of the fury headed his way this fall. Considering he started his career as a film critic, he very well should be. Remakes are a sore enough subject with movie fans, but when a filmmaker takes a shot at an outright classic, they’re only setting themselves up for extra scorn and scrutiny. So it was with perhaps some level of preemptive confidence that Joblo.com was invited to the set of STRAW DOGS way back in October 2009 to get an early look at this update of Sam Peckinpah’s controversial film

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If you’re not familiar with the original STRAW DOGS (pick up the Criterion DVD here) it tells the story of a young couple—David, a quiet American played by Dustin Hoffman, and Amy, an immature British flirt played by Susan George—who move back to her old hometown in northern England. While the wealthy, intellectual husband is resented by the small town, his wife stirs up some old feelings in the brutish men of her past. This all comes to an emotional climax when Amy is sexually assaulted by the men, leading the non-confrontational David to make a violent stand to protect his wife and his home. 

Notorious for its disturbing rape scene and underlying misogyny, STRAW DOGS doesn't seem like an obvious choice for a do-over other than its timeless revenge plot. When we suggested that the majority of the under-40s crowd had probably never heard of the original, star James Marsden joked: "We’re banking on that. I’m basically aping Hoffman in this movie. Don’t tell them this is a remake." A few other brave souls are joining him on this gamble, including Kate Bosworth as Amy, "True Blood" hunk Alexander Skarsgard as Amy's ex-flame Charlie, and James Woods as Tom Heddon, the villainous leader of the Straw Dogs. (That's what the remake, in literal fashion, refers to the four hometown boys turned violent attackers.) While that casting does seem to suggest a change in dynamic from the original characters, for the most part the 2011 version follows the same basic story, save for moving the location to Black water, Mississippi and making David a hotshot Hollywood writer and his wife an actress. Transplanting the story to the Deep South does make a decent amount of sense; the exclusive small town community vibe and fierce confederate pride should be ripe for tension. (Lorie jokingly summed up his take on the setting as "God, guns, football and fried food.") And as for the meta addition of Hollywood—well, let's hope the actors can play actors. 

We arrived on a sunny Friday in Shreveport, Louisiana, a magical land filled with casinos, drive-thru daiquiri stands and movie making. Stage works Studios was home to previous shoots that included THE MIST and MR. BROOKS, and we made our way to the production offices to wait as we perused walls covered in storyboards. STRAW DOGS is a more action-heavy movie than anything Lorie has done before (THE CONTENDER, RESURRECTING THE CHAMP), and he had clearly planned everything out thoroughly. (He also has the very capable second unit director Mic Rodgers at his disposal, who's shot everything from APOCALYPTIC to the FAST AND FURIOUS movies.)

The scene we were there to watch ironically happened to be the most faithful to the original, according to Luria—the part where David invites the Straw Dogs in to his house to hang his bear trap. (Foreshadowing at its best!) Lorie gave us our own headphones and monitor in video village, so we could actually see and hear everything play out, as well as play Peeping Tom in between takes. The mood was light and fun (I heard at least one “that’s what she said” joke), but as soon as the cameras rolled, things got serious.