Hounds of Zaroff: The Most Dangerous Game as a Persistent Muse to the Movies

This Rondo Awards-nominated study describes how Richard Connell's famous story of 1924, "The Most Dangerous Game," has persisted into the New Century as an indelible influence. Michael H. Price and the late George E. Turner began tracing that influence as early as the 1960s, while interviewing the filmmakers responsible for the first adaptation, 1932's THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. The research has continued apace, and it all comes together in THE HOUNDS OF ZAROFF. The book compiles kindred films, remakes, knockoffs, ripoffs, and toss-offs into a 250-page survey -- from the original film, through such famous titles as PREDATOR and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, through rank obscurities like WALK THE DARK STREET and CONFESSIONS OF A PSYCHO CAT. The coverage extends into the present day, with the HUNGER GAMES pictures of 2012-2013 providing a coda. A coda, yes, but never a cul-de-sac for one of the most often-filmed stories ever to see the light of cold print.