Remaking a classic that was swamped in controversy the first time around creates a certain set of expectations, with Rod Lurie’s 2011 version of Straw Dogs pushing the boat so far out that the 2011 film’s attempts to recreate such lightning in a bottle backlash felt nothing more than listless and manufactured.
Audiences had become increasingly desensitized to violence and graphic scenes in the 30 years since Sam Peckinpah’s original that turned into a blaze of publicity and severe edits just to secure a theatrical release, ultimately ending with the psychological thriller securing a reputation as one of the best entries in the filmography of one of cinema’s finest-ever directors.