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Straw Dogs

Straw Dogs

Drama · Thriller · 2011

A young couple moves to a quaint southern town. Soon their perfect getaway turns out to become a living hell when dark secrets and lethal passions spiral out of control.

Movie details

Straw Dogs

“Everyone has a breaking point.”

2011 Drama · Thriller 1h 50m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

A young couple moves to a quaint southern town. Soon their perfect getaway turns out to become a living hell when dark secrets and lethal passions spiral out of control.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Straw Dogs?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Enough

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Martha Marcy May Marlene

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Drama · 2011

After several years of living with a cult, Martha finally escapes and calls her estranged sister, Lucy, for help. Martha finds herself at the quiet Connecticut home Lucy shares with her new husband, Ted, but the memories of what she experienced in the cult make peace hard to find. As flashbacks continue to torment her, Martha fails to shake a terrible sense of dread, especially in regard to the cult's manipulative leader.

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A young man cares for his younger sisters after their mother is imprisoned for murdering their abusive father. When he strikes up an affair with a married woman, long-dormant family secrets bubble to the surface.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Rod Lurie

Written by

Rod Lurie

James Marsden

James Marsden

David Sumner

Kate Bosworth

Kate Bosworth

Amy Sumner

Alexander Skarsgård

Alexander Skarsgård

Charlie Venner

Dominic Purcell

Dominic Purcell

Jeremy Niles

Laz Alonso

Laz Alonso

Deputy John Burke

Willa Holland

Willa Holland

Janice Heddon

James Woods

James Woods

Tom Heddon

Court is in session

Put Straw Dogs on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.