Tarantino's 8th Is Brutal Fun

Rating: 8/10 (20 January 2016)

I saw The Hateful Eight twice in theaters - once in the 70mm Roadshow and once in its wide release - and I thoroughly enjoyed it both times. Tarantino takes somewhat of a revisionist approach to his second try at the Western, exposing through his trademark dialogue and over-the- top violence how brutal, dark - and, well, hateful - the West was, especially post-Civil War. Eight vile characters are locked up together in a cabin during a blizzard, with somebody being not who they claim. The concept certainly takes inspiration from other claustrophobic mysteries and thrillers (John Carpenter's "The Thing" immediately comes to mind), and Tarantino uses this to create characters that are likable in their horribleness, as well as build up a tense mystery over about two hours before exploding into a wild final act. The ensemble cast is top-notch (Jennifer Jason Leigh probably takes the cake with her performance), the pacing is excellent, and the script is both sharply humorous and sometimes quite shocking. Though some may certainly be turned off by the excessive gore, language, and one very shocking scene in particular, I found it to be a wild and fun experience.