Overview
A quiet life in the English countryside turns into a nightmare of violence and primal fear.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- brooding
- foreboding
- oppressive
- serious thriller night
- new hollywood double feature
What critics said
Critics broadly recognize Peckinpah's taut direction, escalating menace, and powerful performances while remaining divided over the film's thin characterization and provocative treatment of violence.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
David Sumner's academic identity erodes as harassment and siege pressure him toward violent self-assertion.
The locals target David's perceived weakness while Amy and the community question his authority as a husband and protector.
The Cornwall village turns local familiarity and communal access against the newly arrived American couple.
Critical commentary specifically identifies swift cross-cutting as a way of linking geographically separate incidents into mounting menace.
Films like Straw Dogs, and why
The Wicker Man
rural psychological thriller centered on escalating menace, social hostility, and a besieged home
Deliverance
new hollywood examination of masculinity, sexual violence, and retaliatory violence in a tense domestic setting
The Night of the Hunter
slow-building home-invasion thriller where ordinary domestic space becomes a site of brutal siege
Movie Details
- Director
- Sam Peckinpah
- Release Date
- 1971-11-25
- Runtime
- 116 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (1122)
Cast
- Dustin Hoffman
- Susan George
- Peter Vaughan
- T. P. McKenna
- Del Henney
- Jim Norton
- Donald Webster
- Ken Hutchison
- Len Jones
- Sally Thomsett
Common questions
- What is Straw Dogs about?
- An American academic's attempt at peaceful rural isolation turns into a savage test of civilization, masculinity, and violence.
- What is Straw Dogs like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Straw Dogs as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Straw Dogs violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Straw Dogs as graphic.
- What did critics think of Straw Dogs?
- Critics broadly recognize Peckinpah's taut direction, escalating menace, and powerful performances while remaining divided over the film's thin characterization and provocative treatment of violence.
- Which films are like Straw Dogs?
- Films with a similar feel include The Wicker Man, Deliverance, and The Night of the Hunter.
- How long is Straw Dogs?
- Straw Dogs runs 116 minutes.
