The Most Dangerous Game stands as one of the most influential and ahead-of-its-time films to appear from the horror  & thriller cycles of the 1930s. It tells of a devious and psychotic big game hunter, who has hauled up on a remote island to capture & hunt humans. The film features a great feeling of building dread ‘n’ unease, tense action scenes, and some fairly intense (for the time) horror imagery. Here from Eureka Entertainment, as part of their  Masters of Cinema series, is a highly deserved Blu-Ray reissue of the picture, featuring a fresh 2k scan of the film, a commentary track, and a nice selection of extras.

The Most Dangerous Game (aka Hounds of Zaroff) was released in 1932. It was co-directed by Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack. Pichel was a Pittsburgh-born director, producer, and actor- in all he had thirty-eight directorial credits to his name, and this was his first film in the director's seat. Otherwise, his credits took in the likes of supernatural melodrama Earthbound (1940), romantic wartime drama Happy Land (1943), and Sci-fi action-drama Destination Moon (1950). Schoedsack was an Iowa-born director and Cinematographer he had thirteen directorial credits to his name- these went from jungle-bound-adventure Rango (1931), period drama/ adventure The Last Days of Pompeii (1935), Mad doctor miniaturizing folk horror Dr. Cyclops(1940),  and gorilla in the city adventure Mighty Joe Young(1949).
 
The Most Dangerous Game, opens at sea- as we go around a large ship owned by Bob (Joel McCrea) a celebrated big game hunter, who is out on a trip with his buddies. The ship's captain informs Bob, that the buoys don’t seem to as they are meant to be on the map- and that they could be going into dangerous waters- he and his cocky buddies shrug off the captain's warning- and in due course, the boat crashes into rocks,  and we get a first a head of its time horror, as we see a shark stalking on of the crew- before blood-filled water. Everyone except Bob perishes- and he makes his way to a small nearby island.  The only building on the island is a castle, and  inside he finds suave-but-sinister Count Zardoff (Leslie Banks). The count recognizers Bob and introduces himself as a fellow hunter.
 
Fairly soon we meet the castle's other ’guests’  Eve(Fay Wray), and her constantly sozzled brother Martin(Robert Armstrong). The count is seemly a generous and attentive host- giving them all the food and drink they want. The count talks about how he’s hunted most animals known to man- but some years ago he became bored by it, so he wanted to find a new challenge. The now staggering Martin stays down with Zardoff, with Bob and Eve going to their respective rooms- just before they part, she takes him aside, detailing that something is very wrong- as her other shipmates disappeared a few days back, and the boat to get off the island is not broken as the count suggested. 
 
The next morning Eve & Bob come down for breakfast to find Martin has disappeared, and from here things rapidly unfold. As they are taken to see the count's trophy room- where we get a fleeting glance of a mounted human head, and one floating in a glass jar- as it's revealed that Zardoff is hunting humans.
 
The film aptly shifts from adventure thriller to creeped-out chiller, on to an early example of the survival horror genre. Leslie Banks is spot on as the not-so-good count, with his greased back black hair, devilish goatee, and normally all-in-black attire- with his character slipping from charming, but slightly unsettling host, to sinister and focused madman. McCrea is a severable enough hero of the film, as is Wray as a damsel in distress.
 
 
The Most Dangerous Game runs at just over the hour mark, and aside from maybe a slightly too long chatty scene on the boat at the start film, it's a pacy and often quite tense film- which brings together elements of action, thriller & horror. 

This new region B Blu-ray features a 2k scan of the film- and this is well balanced and even in its black and white print. On the extras side we get a commentary track with author Stephen Jones and author/critic Kim Newman, and as you’d expect is a wonderfully researched and entertaining track. They start off by mentioning the film's other title which played out in the UK Hounds of Zaroff, and discussing how rapidly paced the film is. They talk about the difference between the short story the film was based on, and the film it’s self- with of few of these being the addition of the female character, and the shipwreck. They talk about when the original story was first printed in 1924, and it went on to be reprinted in many forms over the years. They give a bio of Leslie Banks who played the film's villain- apparently, half of his face was paralysed during the war, and this was one of the few horror films he started in. Later on, they discuss the radio play versions of the film in the 1940s, the film's score, and much more.
Otherwise, on the new extras side, we get an interview with Kim Newman, discussing the film and the hunting human’s sub-genre of films (18.58).  And Stephen Thrower gives his take on the film (19.50). On the archive side, we have three different radio play versions of the story- these each run around the half-hour mark, and a 1971 interview producer, Merian C. Cooper(8.01).

Eureka Entertainment has done a rather splendid job with this reissue of this important & influential 1930s thriller/ horror film. With a wonderful new print of the picture, and great extras to boot.