'The Hateful Eight' Review

Ever since his directorial debut almost 24 years ago with Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino has become one of the most acclaimed and controversial directors in the business. Over the years his films have ranged from crime capers to martial arts flicks and now, westerns. Django: Unchained was Tarantino's first attempt at a western and after seeing how well he could handle the genre I was delighted to hear that he would be doing another one in the form of The Hateful Eight. Last night I finally got to see The Hateful Eight and once again Tarantino delivered, however this time around he gives us something different. This is not the fast paced, action packed thriller we usually associate with a Tarantino film, despite its three hour run time it is a rather slow-burner and takes a while to get into the actual story. This is new ground for Tarantino, but it works and the director gives us one of his most suspenseful films yet.

The plot follows bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L Jackson) who hitches a ride from fellow bounty hunter John 'The Hangman' Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his current bounty Dasiy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Lee) to escape an oncoming blizzard. They find themselves taking shelter at Minnie's Haberdashery along with soon to be sheriff Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins) where they meet Bob (Demián Bichir), the Mexican who is watching Minnie's while she is away. Along with Bob, another trio take shelter at Minnie's in the form of Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth), General Sandy Smithers (Bruce Dern) and Joe Gage (Michael Madsen). They all have their respective reasons for being there but it soon becomes clear that there is something more sinister going on at Minnie's and that one of them is not who they say they are.

 As expected from a Tarantino movie, many of the characters are memorable individuals that stand out in the film. Characters like Walton Goggins' Mannix and Jennifer Jason Lee's Daisy in particular stood out for me, the former having some of the most memorable dialogue in the film while the latter plays a hard as nails psychopath who knows how to take a punch (she takes quite a few). However, certain characters felt a little underdeveloped. The first two chapters of the film (there are 6 in total) set up four of the titular eight characters and give us an insight into their general backgrounds and motivations which I think Tarantino done nicely. However, the other half of the cast who are already at Minnie's don't get such an in depth description and personally I was left wanting more from these, especially Roth's character. Another thing to note is that there were actually nine in total despite the title. The ninth character comes in the form of stagecoach driver O.B. played by James Parks who gets just as much screen time as some of the eight. Despite certain characters lacking in development, the cast members manage to bring these memorable characters to life and each execute their roles perfectly.

Unlike a lot of Tarantino's films it is a slow-burner, think of scenes such as the tavern one in Inglorious Basterds, but dragged out into a feature length film. This is not a bad thing however, as Tarantino manages to build a great level of tension throughout with help from a chilling score from the maestro himself, Ennio Morricone. I was very excited when I heard that Morricone would be scoring the film, known for his collaborations with directors such as Dario Argento and Sergio Leone and his memorable score was one of the highlights of the film for me. With the help of this sinister score and a slow yet steady pacing, Tarantino manages to build tension from the moment the gang set foot inside Minnie's. The film reminded me a lot of John Carpenter's The Thing, from its setting to the whole concept of the bad guy hiding among them (along with the presence of Kurt Russell). I dare say that The Hateful Eight is one of Tarantino's most tense films to date.

One thing that stood out for me was the interval, due to its long running time there was an interval about halfway through the film which compensated for the 187 minutes of film. Going into this film I was worried that it would be a bit dragged out and there are some parts that feel somewhat unnecessary, this includes several instances of a door being nailed shut which happens a lot more times then it should in the film. However there is always something happening to keep the viewers intrigued, from Jackson's characer's confrontation with Dern's character (In a rather unpleasant but memorable scene) to the whole whodunnit aspect of the film. By the time Tarantino's insidious tale nears its climax you won't want to look away as the sinister mystery finally unravels and we find out what is really going on at Minnie's. The films beautiful location alone is enough to keep you glued to the screen as it was filmed in the snow capped hills of Colorado. Along with excellent cinematography from Robert Richardson, the film is just as encapsulating visually as it is in its story.

While it ends quite abruptly and certain characters feel a bit underdeveloped, The Hateful Eight is new territory for Tarantino. Contrasting his more action packed films like Kill Bill and Django: Unchained, the film is much more of a slow burner and replaces action with suspense while keeping in line with classic Tarantino conventions such as memorable dialogue and brutal violence. Tarantino manages to build up this tense atmosphere throughout with help from the sinister score from Ennio Morricone, which comes together in the end in the film's bloody climax. Although it may not live up to his previous films such as Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill, the film shows a new side to Tarantino in that he can build suspense for a films entirety, and that becomes evident when watching The Hateful Eight.