Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs was a complex and controversial tale of violence, masculinity, territory, pacifism….

The remake looks like a standard thriller, only with more attractive actors.

The trailer for Rob Lurie’s remake has finally appeared online.   It doesn’t look bad, exactly, just utterly pointless.  I suppose there could be something below its surface, but it really looks as though it’s Straw Dogs remade into your standard home invasion thriller, and dependent more on Southern culture stereotype than complex characterization.   One of the lurking dangers of the original is that Amy still carries a bit of a torch for Charlie, whereas here he simply screams murdering psycho.   Alexander Skarsgard’s bloodthirsty Eric Northman seems like a gentle lamb in comparison.

And are we really to believe this David Sumner has never heard of fried chicken?

Here’s the trailer. Decide for yourself.  I imagine it will do brisk business on Skarsgard’s sweaty well-posed body alone, which is undoubtedly why it’s so emphasized in every frame.

[via ComingSoon]