Alex to star in 'Straw Dogs' remake

Alexander Skarsgard is going from vampires to vicious locals.

The "True Blood" star has signed to "Straw Dogs," Screen Gems' remake of Sam Peckinpah's 1971 thriller.

Rod Lurie is directing the updated pic, in which a Hollywood screenwriter encounters bloody threats and conflict from locals in a small Southern town after he and his wife move there.

James Marsden is the lead. Skarsgard will play Charlie, described as a grizzled, athletic type.

Skarsgard, repped by CAA, has had roles in features like "Zoolander" and the HBO miniseries "Generation Kill." He is best known for playing Eric Northman in "Blood," also set in the South.