Editorials
[Interview] ‘Straw Dogs’ Director Rod Lurie
Director Rod Lurie (The Contender, Nothing But The Truth) has had a long three years of dodging and absorbing criticism ever since it was announced that he would be taking the reigns on a remake of Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 classic, Straw Dogs. Loosely basing his film on the book “The Siege At Trencher’s Farm” by Gordon Williams, Peckinpah fashioned a unique statement about the politics of masculinity in his story about American mathematician David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) and his wife Amy (Susan George) who visit her hometown in England only to find fissures in their marital dynamic. The cracks in their relationship are tested by the differing cultural environment and the local populace (including Amy’s ex-boyfriend Charlie) and by the end of the film, well… things get a little out of hand.
When the wildly controversial original film was released in 1971 it was met with public outcry, forced edits by the US studio, and an `X’ rating in the United Kingdom (in fact, 13 years after the film’s release in the UK the uncut version was banned, which remained in effect until 2002). Many critics felt the film’s exploration of violence and was both fascist and misogynistic. Whatever Peckinpah’s true moral and sociological intentions may have been, the film is a masterpiece.
All of this obviously adds to the stakes of tackling a remake. Taking on one of the hallmark films of a legendary director, a film that touches on issues that are very much still culturally sensitive, well it’s certainly a risk.
I had the chance to touch base with Rod Lurie this week to discuss his version of Straw Dogs which stars James Marsden and Kate Bosworth as David and Amy Sumner as well as Alexander Skarsgard as Amy’s ex-boyfriend Charlie. Rounding out the cast are James Woods, Rhys Coiro, Walton Goggins, Willa Holland and Dominic Purcell.
Speaking by phone from his hotel in New York, Lurie discussed the film’s location shift to Mississippi, how his view of humanity differs from Sam Peckinpah’s, and how James Marsden approached his character from a different place than Dustin Hoffman.
Note: Towards the end of the interview I asked Lurie about a central scene, in both the original film and the remake, and he declined to comment on it. I have omitted both my question and his response. Lurie did, however, offer to speak with me in a followup interview. If that falls into place I’ll be glad to share some more in-depth discussion down the line.
Bloody-Disgusting: I actually haven’t had a chance to see the new one yet. I was supposed to come out to New York and see it a few weeks ago and talk to the cast but –
Rod Lurie: Hurricane Irene cancelled all that, yeah.
BD: Well I’m a fan of the first one and thought it had an interesting take on the notion of masculinity, especially in the 70`s. So I wanted to talk with you while I had the chance. What attracted you to this project in the first place?
RL: What attracted me in the first place was, first of all the opportunity to make it, that’s the first one. And my producing partner Martin Freeman was able to obtain the rights, and he asked me if I thought I wanted to direct it. And, like everyone else, I said “oh they’re really going to come after me. I’m going to have a bullseye on my back”. And that is exactly what happened as soon as I announced I was going to do it. But it was Dustin Hoffman who talked me into it actually, and he basically told me, you know Straw Dogs is a western after all and as a result what you can do is put your own spin on it. Peckinpah had his own point of view of humankind and you can put your own point of view on it. And we do have different points of view. Peckinpah is much more from that school of violence being biologically embedded in us and and I’m from the point of view that violence is conditioned into us. So we told the same story but from different points of view.
BD: Did you go back to the [book] “Siege Of Trencher’s Farm” and extrapolate anything new out of it?
RL: No. No I didn’t. I went entirely from the film. A little bit like Peckinpah, he didn’t use the book really at all. In fact I went almost entirely off the Peckinpah film, that’s what really interested me. That’s the experiment that interested me.
BD: What were some of the benefits of transporting the story to Mississippi?
RL: Well the primary interest for me was to find a community, and it didn’t necessarily have to be Mississippi, it could be many many towns in the United States but I wanted to have a town where sort of violence was a part of the town. For example a town where football is king, a town where hunting is king, a town where the preacher is talking about God smiting people from the earth. A town that where violence is so much a part of it that when it is perpetrated, barely an eyebrow is raised.
BD: Earlier you mentioned having a target on you when this was announced, which I think was in 2008 right?
RL: Right.
BD: And when I heard about James Marsden being cast I certainly remember thinking that he’s such a kind of strapping and handsome person that he’d certainly be less nebbish than Hoffman’s character in the original.
RL: That was very much on purpose because, you know, I could have hired one of those actors who are very Hoffman-like but, I decided not to do that because I decided it would be an impossible burden for that particular actor to carry. I went for a very different kind of David, someone who was not really a character actor at all, someone who was more of a movie star, someone more in the Redford or Paul Newman mode. I thought that would be less of a burden and create another contrast.
BD: Between Skarsgard and Marsden, Marsden is very much playing a different version of David from what I’ve seen [clips] at least and –
RL: I would say that and again that was very much done on purpose. The David that exists in the Peckinpah film is certainly a guy who is possessed of violence. That is what his very existence is. Within him there is a simmering violence. And I don’t think that’s true of my guy. My guy is a guy who is driven to violence, not a guy whose violence is released from him and therefore he is a different sort of character.
BD: You changed his profession to being a screenwriter, is there anything in your personal experience that informed that?
RL: In the original he’s a mathematician, meaning that he lives by rigid rules and, by the way, is very non-confrontational and not argumentative because mathematics is ‘2+2=4’. My David is a screenwriter so he lives in a world of greater ambiguity and in fact he’s writing a screenplay in the movie about Stalingrad.
BD: In the original it feels like Dustin Hoffman is baiting the violence a little bit.
RL: Well that’s exactly what it is. Peckinpah said in the film that David was the heavy of the movie. So I think you have that exactly right. So now let’s see whether or not mine resonates at all. I hope that it does.
Straw Dogs is in theaters September 16th.
Editorials
‘Immaculate’ – A Companion Watch Guide to the Religious Horror Movie and Its Cinematic Influences
The religious horror movie Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney and directed by Michael Mohan, wears its horror influences on its sleeves. NEON’s new horror movie is now available on Digital and PVOD, making it easier to catch up with the buzzy title. If you’ve already seen Immaculate, this companion watch guide highlights horror movies to pair with it.
Sweeney stars in Immaculate as Cecilia, a woman of devout faith who is offered a fulfilling new role at an illustrious Italian convent. Cecilia’s warm welcome to the picture-perfect Italian countryside gets derailed soon enough when she discovers she’s become pregnant and realizes the convent harbors disturbing secrets.
From Will Bates’ gothic score to the filming locations and even shot compositions, Immaculate owes a lot to its cinematic influences. Mohan pulls from more than just religious horror, though. While Immaculate pays tribute to the classics, the horror movie surprises for the way it leans so heavily into Italian horror and New French Extremity. Let’s dig into many of the film’s most prominent horror influences with a companion watch guide.
Warning: Immaculate spoilers ahead.
Rosemary’s Baby
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The mother of all pregnancy horror movies introduces Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), an eager-to-please housewife who’s supportive of her husband, Guy, and thrilled he landed them a spot in the coveted Bramford apartment building. Guy proposes a romantic evening, which gives way to a hallucinogenic nightmare scenario that leaves Rosemary confused and pregnant. Rosemary’s suspicions and paranoia mount as she’s gaslit by everyone around her, all attempting to distract her from her deeply abnormal pregnancy. While Cecilia follows a similar emotional journey to Rosemary, from the confusion over her baby’s conception to being gaslit by those who claim to have her best interests in mind, Immaculate inverts the iconic final frame of Rosemary’s Baby to great effect.
The Exorcist
William Friedkin’s horror classic shook audiences to their core upon release in the ’70s, largely for its shocking imagery. A grim battle over faith is waged between demon Pazuzu and priests Damien Karras (Jason Miller) and Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow). The battleground happens to be a 12-year-old, Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), whose possessed form commits blasphemy often, including violently masturbating with a crucifix. Yet Friedkin captures the horrifying events with stunning cinematography; the emotional complexity and shot composition lend elegance to a film that counterbalances the horror. That balance between transgressive imagery and artful form permeates Immaculate as well.
Suspiria
Jessica Harper stars as Suzy Bannion, an American newcomer at a prestigious dance academy in Germany who uncovers a supernatural conspiracy amid a series of grisly murders. It’s a dance academy so disciplined in its art form that its students and faculty live their full time, spending nearly every waking hour there, including built-in meals and scheduled bedtimes. Like Suzy Bannion, Cecilia is a novitiate committed to learning her chosen trade, so much so that she travels to a foreign country to continue her training. Also, like Suzy, Cecilia quickly realizes the pristine façade of her new setting belies sinister secrets that mean her harm.
What Have You Done to Solange?
This 1972 Italian horror film follows a college professor who gets embroiled in a bizarre series of murders when his mistress, a student, witnesses one taking place. The professor starts his own investigation to discover what happened to the young woman, Solange. Sex, murder, and religion course through this Giallo’s veins, which features I Spit on Your Grave’s Camille Keaton as Solange. Immaculate director Michael Mohan revealed to The Wrap that he emulated director Massimo Dallamano’s techniques, particularly in a key scene that sees Cecilia alone in a crowded room of male superiors, all interrogating her on her immaculate status.
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times
In this Giallo, two sisters inherit their family’s castle that’s also cursed. When a dark-haired, red-robed woman begins killing people around them, the sisters begin to wonder if the castle’s mysterious curse has resurfaced. Director Emilio Miraglia infuses his Giallo with vibrant style, with the titular Red Queen instantly eye-catching in design. While the killer’s design and use of red no doubt played an influential role in some of Immaculate’s nightmare imagery, its biggest inspiration in Mohan’s film is its score. Immaculate pays tribute to The Red Queen Kills Seven Times through specific music cues.
The Vanishing
Rex’s life is irrevocably changed when the love of his life is abducted from a rest stop. Three years later, he begins receiving letters from his girlfriend’s abductor. Director George Sluizer infuses his simple premise with bone-chilling dread and psychological terror as the kidnapper toys with Red. It builds to a harrowing finale you won’t forget; and neither did Mohan, who cited The Vanishing as an influence on Immaculate. Likely for its surprise closing moments, but mostly for the way Sluizer filmed from inside a coffin.
The Other Hell
This nunsploitation film begins where Immaculate ends: in the catacombs of a convent that leads to an underground laboratory. The Other Hell sees a priest investigating the seemingly paranormal activity surrounding the convent as possessed nuns get violent toward others. But is this a case of the Devil or simply nuns run amok? Immaculate opts to ground its horrors in reality, where The Other Hell leans into the supernatural, but the surprise lab setting beneath the holy grounds evokes the same sense of blasphemous shock.
Inside
During Immaculate‘s freakout climax, Cecilia sets the underground lab on fire with Father Sal Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) locked inside. He manages to escape, though badly burned, and chases Cecilia through the catacombs. When Father Tedeschi catches Cecilia, he attempts to cut her baby out of her womb, and the stark imagery instantly calls Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s seminal French horror movie to mind. Like Tedeschi, Inside’s La Femme (Béatrice Dalle) will stop at nothing to get the baby, badly burned and all.
Burial Ground
At first glance, this Italian zombie movie bears little resemblance to Immaculate. The plot sees an eclectic group forced to band together against a wave of undead, offering no shortage of zombie gore and wild character quirks. What connects them is the setting; both employed the Villa Parisi as a filming location. The Villa Parisi happens to be a prominent filming spot for Italian horror; also pair the new horror movie with Mario Bava’s A Bay of Blood or Blood for Dracula for additional boundary-pushing horror titles shot at the Villa Parisi.
The Devils
The Devils was always intended to be incendiary. Horror, at its most depraved and sadistic, tends to make casual viewers uncomfortable. Ken Russell’s 1971 epic takes it to a whole new squeamish level with its nightmarish visuals steeped in some historical accuracy. There are the horror classics, like The Exorcist, and there are definitive transgressive horror cult classics. The Devils falls squarely in the latter, and Russell’s fearlessness in exploring taboos and wielding unholy imagery inspired Mohan’s approach to the escalating horror in Immaculate.
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