The Start of a True Horror Subgenre

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MOVIE REVIEW
The Most Dangerous Game
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Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror
Year Released: 1932, 2022 (Eureka Blu-ray)
Runtime: 1h 3m
Director(s): Irving Pichel, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Writer(s): James Ashmore Creelman (screenplay,) Richard Connell (from the O.Henry prize-winning collection story)
Cast: Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks
Where To Watch: Pre-order for release on October 24, 2022, www.eurekavideo.co.uk/movie/the-most-dangerous-game

RAVING REVIEW: Is it an adventure, action, or horror? It’s all that and more in one of the early entries into talkies; we get a story that countless people have drawn inspiration from in the modern day.

When I hear the name Fay Wray I instantly think of the lyrics from a song in the ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW “Whatever happened to Fay Wray, That delicate satin-draped frame, As it clung to her thigh.” While she is probably most remembered for her role in 1933s KING KONG, she made a name for herself both before and after in films like this and many others, with 124 acting credits to her name.

The idea of taking ordinary people and dropping them into an “arena” to be hunted for sport isn’t crazy to modern audiences; THE HUNT 2020 is the most recent example I can think of. Audiences in the 1930s weren’t quite as numb to the idea as we may be today. This is where it all started, and there was no pulling of the punches even back then. I was genuinely shocked at how crazy this movie got at times.

I would argue that this is one of the most impressive films in this genre, especially note-worthy because of how many incredible examples there are going up against it. Also of note, not only did the movie borrow Fay Wray from KING KONG, but it also borrowed its sets to save money. While Kong shot during the day, this was shot primarily at night after Kong wrapped for the day.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
– Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase [2000 copies]
– 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a 2K restored scan
– Optional English SDH
– Brand new audio commentary with author Stephen Jones and author/critic Kim Newman
– Brand new interview with author/critic Kim Newman on the “hunted human” sub-genre
– Brand new interview with film scholar Stephen Thrower
– A collector’s booklet featuring a new essay by Craig Ian Mann illustrated with archival imagery

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