Straw Dogs
Screen Gems | Release Date: September 16, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
45
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
12
Negative:
9
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertSep 14, 2011
Rod Lurie has made a first-rate film of psychological warfare, and yes, I thought it was better than Peckinpah's. Marsden, Bosworth and Skarsgard are all persuasive, and although James Woods has played a lot of evil men during his career, this one may be the scariest. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezSep 14, 2011
Straw Dogs is an artful provocation - a meditation on masculinity and societal mores in the guise of an explosive thriller. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanSep 16, 2011
While Lurie could have gone lighter on the symbolism, he ratchets up the tension with deft intelligence. He's not just making a thriller but a horror film, and we feel his own fear in every scene. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliSep 17, 2011
Although the moral ambiguity of Straw Dogs has been softened in the remake, the message and the forceful way in which it is delivered remain the same. Read full review
75
USA TodayScott BowlesSep 15, 2011
Even by today's standards, some scenes are jaw-dropping in their bloodshed. To that end, Lurie accomplishes some of what Peckinpah evoked 40 years ago. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversSep 15, 2011
Peckinpah rubbed our noses in the bloodlust. Lurie invites objectivity. He gets strong, complex performances from actors who won't be painted into corners. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe HollemanSep 16, 2011
More damaging is Lurie's conspicuous "red state" rant, as he makes sure that every prominent guy in this film - save for the screenwriter and the black sheriff - fits all of the Southern stereotypes. That doesn't make it a bad movie, just one that is something less than Peckinpah's original. Read full review
63
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottSep 16, 2011
As it turns out, though, the most troubling part of the film for me wasn't the rape scene, or the siege scene or the Southern stereotypes. Rather, it was the audience's reaction to Marsden's chilling spasms of bloody violence as he defends his home. Rather than breaking out in hives, many in the audience broke out in laughter. Read full review
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