Review of The Most Dangerous Game (1932) by Sean L — 10 Mar 2018

Shipwrecked by an unseen reef, having lost every one of his shipmates and travel companions, a world-renowned hunter turns up on the doorstep of a strangely luxurious estate and is welcomed by its perplexing, eccentric, eastern European owner.

Chances are, you already know the rest of the story. This old film has been parodied and name-dropped so many times, it's virtually ubiquitous. Already knowing the twist, it seems pantomimed from the start, and I couldn't help wondering if it was really so telegraphed or if I merely knew what to look for.

The production itself is cut-rate, obviously reusing set pieces throughout the jungle, but those shortcuts seem almost quaint given its age. It's technically uncertain, too. One particularly daring long zoom, from the top of a staircase to a lingering close-up, is clunky and awkward enough to draw a laugh, but also admirably ambitious for the period.

Rough, bumbling cuts and edits litter the screen, barely covering for (or, in some cases, causing) a flubbed line or weird cadence from the actors. The plot is scrappy and short, though, straight to the point with little ballying about, and the penultimate chase through the jungle works amazingly well.

More of a short story than an epic feature, it's a good way to burn an hour and appreciate how far the format has come.