The Hateful Eight [R]

On a cold and snowy hilltop, a famous bounty hunter sits atop the four corpses of his bounty, trying to hitch a ride. Along comes a coach carrying another famous hunter and his prize. On the way to Red Rock, the two pick up the town’s new sheriff. Against their luck, a blizzard comes along and they are forced to hold up in a cabin with a shifty Mexican, a surly General, the town hangman, and a solitary cattle rustler. Soon a strange vibe begins to cloud over the untrusting and trigger-happy group begging the question, will any of them outlive the storm? 

I’m going to attempt to write this in the most unbiased way I can, but being a Tarantino fan, a Tarantinian if you will, this may prove difficult. So be warned, you’re in for an unbridled rave of how enjoyable The Hateful Eight is! 

It’s a classic Tarantino movie! All his signature quirks are in place and work wonderfully well to tell a story that, despite the characters and the heavy dialogue, is delightfully simple. In fact, it’s a little reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs. The film is broken up into chapters and features a few flashbacks in order to cover every little aspect of the two separate stories that are actually happening and have managed to cross paths in the cabin. This cross-over is particularly interesting in fact and proves to be really tasty because, when you consider the circumstances, it brings this great level of humour to the film; that grander-narrative humour that Tarantino entertained us with in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction and is almost akin to the black comedy of Terry Gilliam or the Coen brothers. 

As with many of Tarantino’s movies, the film is character-driven and very heavy on the dialogue, which you would fear would become boring or un-captivating if not for the wonderful performances. Every actor delivers a memorable and top-notch performance, each being so good that it’s very hard to place favouritism. There is actually something akin to the stage play, almost Shakespearean in the way that this movie was filmed, with all the drama taking place within the confines of four walls. It put me in mind of Hitchcock’s Rope a little bit. 

Tarantino exhibits an incredible sense of style and significance in his direction and mise-en-scene, with practically everything that you see on screen, right down to the last jellybean on the floor giving you the impression that it has a purpose, that there is a reason it’s there and shot the way it is. The shot composition and mise-en-scene succeeds in making the film a very compelling mystery-thriller cleverly disguised as a western. 

I also want to give a shout out to Ennio Morricone and his remarkable score that accompanied this film. Like many of Tarantino’s films the soundtrack plays a very crucial role, not just in creating a certain atmosphere or ambiance, but providing some of the humour as well. What’s wonderful about the music here is that it’s got a style that doesn’t quite, by the slimmest hair, seem to fit with the genre of the film and in many scenes it’s played at points and at volumes that come across as being a little out of sync with everything that’s going on. This very subtle contrast I enjoyed very much because it inspired another feeling in me as I was watching it: that of watching a classic B movie, the one that immediately sprang to mind was Mad Max where the music is so over-the-top and used in scenes where it really shouldn’t be, it’s just funny. 

And everything else about this movie was right as well! The costumes were impeccable and period, the set design was just as much so, and the makeup and gore effects emblazoned themselves into imprints on your brain. Disclaimer, this film can get pretty graphic and gross in classic Tarantino fashion. 

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Tim Roth, James Parks, Craig Stark, Bruce Dern, Michael Madsen, Dana Gourrier, Zoe Bell, Gene Jones, Keith Jefferson, and Channing Tatum, The Hateful Eight is the 8^th movie by Tarantino and stands up to all the rest. Whilst I don’t think it’s the best movie that he’s done, I tend to go back to his earlier films, I still really enjoyed this and found so much in it to love. 

Filled with gore, action, violence, drama, mystery, suspense, and comedy, it’s another classic Tarantino film!