Straw Dogs is a film directed by Rod Lurie and composed by Larry Groupe. It’s a remake of the 1971 Dustin Hoffman thriller in which a young, intellectual couple move back to her hometown and have trouble with the locals. It’s a creepy film, not overtly but rather psychologically, and Rod created some intense scenes at the film’s finale that are worth catching. The remake stars Kate Bosworth and James Marsden as the married couple who get harassed and threatened by their neighboring rednecks. What touched me was the young man (played by James Marsden) who is just trying to do the right thing, but in the end is forced to fight for his life and that of his wife.

Second film I have mixed at my studio in Hollywood. Lots of reworking and details to go over but in the end the score is absolutely beautiful. Recorded in the magnificent Bastyr Church. You’ll hear right from the start how grand, sweeping and dramatic the music is and how it plays almost its own character in the film. My favorite sequence is the opening, I could not imagine any better for that first scene, it sets up the story so perfectly and makes the audience pay attention, because they know trouble is coming to this young, ideal couple.

My assistant Phil helped immensely and I’m proud he got credit for this project. I mixed for a week and am pleased with the results. I’m always pleased when the filmmaker and composer get what they want.

Listen to an End Credit Suite: