The Hateful Eight (2015), Directed by Quentin Tarantino Review

Is The Hateful Eight simply another exploitation film? An overlong 3 hour ride climaxing into a senseless bloodbath? A misogynistic, racist ramble? Conclusion to all; no. One morbid punchline after another builds up to an elevated level of tension and shock value (even by Tarantino standards). The Hateful 8 manages to hold audience's attention with hardly any change in environment. Seeing as how it lacks a variety of locations, it is primarily a character driven plot; the sets literally act as a sedentary backgrounds through which the characters interact. The first act, outdoors during a blizzard in the middle of Wyoming, kicks off when bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) reluctantly picks up another notorious bounty hunter, Major Marquis Warren. Ruth is "in possession" of a female prisoner Daisy Domerguis (Jennifer Jason Leigh), worth $10,000 to hang. From here they stumble across the alleged to-be sheriff of Red Rock Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins). One their way to Red Rock, they stop at "Minnie's Haberdashery," after which almost the remainder of the film takes place.


Being a character driven film, The Hateful Eight fortunately sports an impressive array of actors and Tarantino regulars; most notably Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell. Russell breaks the mold of his hollywood tough-guy persona as John "The Hangman" Ruth, a comically disgruntled bounty hunter with his own odd code of ethics. Russell's humorous and enigmatic execution of the brash John Ruth makes him dangerously close to likeable, despite the fact he is far from a moral icon. Jackson, also a bounty hunter, doesn't stray too far out of his comfort zone as the comically crass "bad ass motherfucker." This is hardly negative however; Jackson has become a household name in modern cinema whose intense larger-than-life personality drives most of his characters's strength with ingenuity. This holds especially true for his past performances in Tarantino's other films.


The chemistry between Jackson's crudely comical Major Marquis Warren and Russell's sincerely buffoonish John Ruth plays an important dynamic in driving the film's first act. In the second act, we witness firsthand the extents to which Warren's ruthless and sociopathic behavior stretch to achieve true revenge. In the third act, he has ironically solidified himself as one of the story's heroes, alongside the unexpected Sheriff Chris Mannix. Walter Goggins also delivers a lively performance, just the right measure of hokeyness, and depicts Mannix's evolution from a simple minded enforcer of the law to a reasonably virtuous man in a convincing manner. 


The supporting cast competently aids in keeping the momentum consistent. Tim Roth sports a goofy British accent as Oswaldo Mobray, or the "The Tiny Man." Demián Bichir does well keeping it subtle as "Senor Bob." Staying out of consistent site, Bob is still integral to the progression. His sense as a background character is perfectly encompassed in his "recital" of "Silent Night," serving as a wonderfully ironic background piece during Jackson's sadistic soliloquy to General Sandy Smithers (Bruce Dern); a story of untethered rage and revenge, involving human degradation and forced copulation toward General Smithers' son. Michael Madsen welcomingly plays essentially the same eloquently doltish degenerate as in Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill. Jennifer Jason Leigh's "Daisy" is an obnoxiously free spirited murderess, whose character transforms seamlessly from deftly devious to dangerously venomous.


Prolific Italian musical mastermind Ennio Morricone (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, The Thing) composes a subliminally stellar score. Eight's score is arguably one of the film's strongest elements. It is no coincidence that The Hateful Eight's soundtrack bears a striking resemblance to his work in John Carpenter's horror classic The Thing (1982). Multiple sources indicate some of Morricone's material for Eight is, in fact, unused work recompiled from The Thing. Like Tarantino's other referential tactics, which, when carried out well mesh effortlessly in tandem with Tarantino's original source material.


Seeing as how this is Tarantino's self proclaimed eighth major film, it would only be appropriate to conclude this review by comparing The Hateful Eight to few of his earlier titles. Although the intelligent allegory to powerful personalities and classes during the The Civil War is acknowledgable, it is not quite as narratively inventive as Pulp Fiction. It doesn't quite stack up to the twisted kinetic energy of Inglorious Basterds and Kill Bill. It is not as thoroughly entertaining as Jackie Brown. It is assuredly better than the embarrassing Death Proof, and probably on par with Django Unchained.

Stylistically, it succeeds with a minimal color palette and limited locations. The visuals are characteristic of Tarantino's better work; occasionally inventive and frequently engaging. All considered, it makes for hella good entertainment and is currently one of the more enthralling films you can still catch on the silver screen.

Overall: 8.5/10