Given that the current approach to most of the afore-mentioned films seems to be “lots of people were disgusted by it, let’s make it again”, it was wearyingly inevitable that Straw Dogs would find its way back to us and so it has. Rod Lurie, director of decidedly non-controversial fare such as The Contender and The Last Castle, seems an unexpected choice for handling the remake, but perhaps the move is intended to bestow a bit of prestige on what might otherwise be dismissed as another hack-helmed cash-in.
The original played very well to star Dustin Hoffman’s seeming mild-mannered nature, as he is pushed over the edge by the rape of his wife and finds hitherto untapped reservoirs of violence and strength to fend off the attackers during a prolonged assault on their home. This time, James Marsden and Kate Bosworth play husband and wife, with Alexander Skarsgård leading the attackers. Lurie assures that it will not be a “soft movie”, but how he’ll handle the tone of the rape scene (assuming it will remain in the remake) cannot really be anticipated at this stage.
Straw Dogs is due for release on 16th September 2011 in the US and 28th October in the UK. Until we get more news, check out the on set shots below, which come from EW, via The Playlist.