Straw Dogs (2011)
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The story
Scriptwriter David Sumner and his wife Amy, an actress, move to the rural town of Blackwater in Mississippi to stay in the home of Amy's late father while David finishes a script. Their isolation is interrupted by a group of local men hired to repair the roof of the property. While the men's behavior begins as crude harassment, the tension escalates as they become increasingly intrusive and threatening. David and Amy must navigate the growing hostility of the local men and the surrounding community, culminating in a desperate struggle for survival when the situation turns violent.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
David and Amy move to rural Mississippi to work on a script. They are harassed by a group of men, including Amy's ex-boyfriend Charlie, who are hired to fix the roof. After a series of escalating tensions and a violent incident involving a local girl, Janice, and a man named Jeremy, the situation turns deadly. After a series of assaults, David and Amy find themselves barricaded in their home against the men. A violent confrontation ensues where David and Amy fight off the intruders. The film ends with David and Amy watching as the men are defeated, with David declaring, 'I got 'em all.'
- First release year
- 2011
- Runtime (minutes)
- 109
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Rod Lurie
- Writers
- Rod Lurie · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- James Marsden · David; Kate Bosworth · Amy; Alexander Skarsgård · Charlie; Dominic Purcell · Norman; Laz Alonso · Bic; Willa Holland · Janice; James Woods · Tom Heddon
- Genres
- Southern Gothic; psychological thriller
- Themes
- macho masculinity; isolation; violence
- Tone and mood
- tense; disturbing; violent
- Setting
- Rural Mississippi
- Premise and plot tags
- home invasion; remake; survival
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Siege of Trencher's Farm (novel by Gordon Williams)
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- The film was a commercial disappointment and received mixed-to-negative reviews, with many reviewers comparing it critically to its source material.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 42% · review count: 125; Metacritic · score: 45% · review count: 29; CinemaScore · score: C · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film began shooting in Shreveport and Vivian, Louisiana.; The film is a remake of a 1971 film.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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