Straw Dogs
Straw Dogs (2011)
★ / ★★★★
David (James Marsden), a screenwriter for movies, and Amy (Kate Bosworth), a television actress, husband and wife from Los Angeles, moved to the South so David could get some work done. While Amy was welcomed by the people she grew up with, especially Charlie (Alexander Skarsgård), a former high school flame, David experienced some friction with most of them. As the two settled in their home over a couple of weeks, Charlie and his friends pushed David bit by bit by implying he wasn’t good enough to land a woman like Amy, that he wasn’t enough of a man for her. David aimed to prove them wrong. Based on the novel “The Siege of Trencher’s Farm” by Gordon Williams, watching “Straw Dogs,” written and directed by Rod Lurie, I felt an overwhelming lack of dimension from its characters. David was the unaware city boy who overstepped his boundaries by flaunting his hundred dollar bills, Amy strutted around outside without a bra but became upset when men looked at her lasciviously, and Charlie was the two-faced villain who felt inferior whenever he heard David’s classical music. As the events slowly escalated from snide comments to full-throttle violence, we learned nothing much about the three them. Amy became very frustrated with her husband’s passive approach. If David did confront Charlie and his friends, it was her husband’s battle (or life) to lose. If she supposedly grew up with them, she should have been more aware of what they were capable of. If anything, she should be one pulling back David’s leash, not getting upset with him when clearly he just didn’t want trouble. Meanwhile, David decided to go hunting with the boys to prove he was a man. If he was so smart and worldly, as depicted on the day the couple moved into their new home, I wondered how he didn’t catch that it wasn’t even hunting season. “What time of year is hunting season?” was easy to type on Google considering he was on his laptop during most of the day. Furthermore, the film introduced characters such as Tom (James Woods), a former high school coach turned alcoholic, and slow-witted Jeremy (Dominic Purcell), in his thirties, who happened to have a history with underaged girls. When David asked why the latter wasn’t put away, Charlie responded, “We take care of our own.” Far from it. Tom’s daughter (Willa Holland), fifteen years old, was attracted to Jeremy. Despite people constantly telling her to keep her distance from him, she couldn’t help herself. Naturally, the father had something to say with his fist. Although Woods’ explosive antics were attention-grabbing, most of the time, the things he had to say felt independent from the movie. Must he be angry all the time? Again, the script was devoid of depth and good performances couldn’t keep the material afloat. “Straw Dogs,” despite its handful of symbolism involving animals, left nothing much to the imagination. I almost forgot about it as soon as it was over. Except the bare-chested Skarsgård. His glistening pecs were memorable.
The Gravedancers
Gravedancers, The (2006)
★★ / ★★★★
Three friends from college, Harris (Dominic Purcell), Kira (Josie Maran) and Sid (Marcus Thomas), decided to go back to their friend’s fresh burial ground for a final goodbye. After alcohol affected their brains, probably not dissimilar back when they were still in school, Sid found a letter, decided to read it out loud, and the trio danced on strangers’ graves. Weeks after their unwise–to say the least–grave desecration, strange things began to happen in their homes. Later on, with the help of two somewhat amusing paranormal investigators (Tchéky Karyo, Megahn Perry), they found out that the letter was a spell designed to awaken spirits. The three angry ghosts, an axe-wielding piano teacher, a child pyromaniac and a judge with a penchant for sexually mutilating women, were not going to stop until their victims were dead. “The Gravedancers,” written by Brad Keene and Chris Skinner, was at its most interesting when the pesky CGI didn’t get in the way of story and old-fashioned scares. Notice the scene in the bedroom when Harris woke up and saw what he believed to be his wife’s arm around him. When he recognized that his actual wife (Clare Kramer), Allison, had just stepped out of the shower, the picture quickly revealed the rotting corpse. Chances are, someone who’s seen a number of horror movies is familiar with that set-up. What disappointed me most was the director, Mike Mendez, failed to milk every second of it. Waking up next to a dead body was horrific in itself. But there was no next level of fear. It seemed like either Mendez just didn’t care to put his signature or he didn’t have real control of the material. After about two reaction shots from the lovers, the corpse was in the middle of the frame and the CGI, the spraying of the glass, took over. Why did the window have to break? Sometimes less is more. Another aspect that didn’t make sense to me was that the ghosts were willing to kill those that didn’t dance on their graves. It gave me the impression that the body count mattered more than the storyline. Lastly, the rivalry between Allison and Kira felt contrived. Instead of increasing the tension, every time Allison got jealous of Kira, I felt like I was watching a bad soap opera. The rolling of the eyes and the awkwardness in the air hindered the momentum of the rising action. They were adults but I felt like they were stuck in high school. Nevertheless, the film had some good scares in the superior first half. The opening and closing of the doors, the strange creaking noises, and the piano-playing in the middle of the night were creepy. Too bad it was always a dark, rainy night. I wondered if the writers ever heard of a thing called diminishing returns.
