Straw Dogs - drew the short straw in every regard.

The movie is setup as a suspense film, but it doesnt deliver as more than end of summer rubbish.

Initially viewers' hopes are brightened by the humor and characters in a small town bar scene near where two urban dwellers are looking to move into the recently deceased father's house. (Did you get all that?) The movie then turns to something quite dull and intended for the the theatre slow season when nobody is going to the movies. We have a token black guy (the Sheriff), the simple village idiot attempting to further the plot and give some depth to the film, stalkers, beer, hunting, and sexual innuendos...the end. The movies "Walking Tall", "Of Mice and Men", and any small town horror/suspense film are mimicked in "Straw Dogs".

Rednecks vs city dwellers. Small town football. Some gripping death scenes near the end to give the movie something memorable besides the cast's pretty faces. There was one line to remember "That's your queen." as the loving couple makes lazy love. Look, just skip this film, or go try to rent the original 1971 version. "Straw Dogs" will pull 1 out of 5 Cyclones.


-The New CycloneMovies.com Critic