| “ | I refuse to believe that so modern and civilized a young man as you seem to be harbors romantic ideas about the value of human life... Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if needs be, taken by the strong. The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure. I am strong. Why should I not use my gift? If I wish to hunt, why should I not? I hunt the scum of the earth: sailors from tramp ships — lascars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels — a thoroughbred horse or hound is worth more than a score of them. | „ |
| ~ General Zaroff explaining his misanthropy to Rainsford |
| “ | Here on my island, I hunt the most dangerous game. | „ |
| ~ General Zaroff |
General Zaroff is the main antagonist of the 1924 short story The Most Dangerous Game by the late Richard Connell, and the 1932 live-action film adaptation of the same name.
In the film, he was portrayed by the late Leslie Banks.
What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]
Both[]
- Zaroff is a prolific serial killer who hunts down guests who arrive (or are brung) on his island, with both versions making it clear he has been hunting down people for a long time at this point.
- While Zaroff appears to be honorable and polite to Rainsford when he first meets him, this is a mere mask that conceals his misanthropic and sadistic traits that come to define his acts.
Novel[]
- Implied to have hunted down and killed a substantial number of people trapped on his island.
- Fully allows his servant Ivan to use a knout to torture the guest if they refuse to partake in the game.
- Attempts to kill Rainsford after he survives three days so his mass murder crime is not exposed to the public.
- Although Rainsford is confirmed to have brutally killed him without mercy, it is ultimately not played for sympathy due to his acts.
Film[]
- Deliberately causes the shipwrecks to bring him humans to hunt by using channel lights to run the ships aground.
- Sends his guests into paranoia to begin his hunt by locking them in a trophy room of human heads for an hour.
- Torments Eve by showing her the decapitated body and head of her brother Marvin.
- After seemingly killing Rainsford, he takes Eve back to his castle to become his personal sex slave against her will.
- When Rainsford and Eve fight their way out of the castle, Zaroff still tries to kill them despite the hunt already concluding.
- As with the novel, his death is treated as well-deserved punishment for his actions.
