Combining a slow pace with great action

Rating: 8/10 (17 January 2016)

This movie is brutal. What happens in this cabin is absolute hell, and if you are not up for laughing at moral depravity, shy away from this movie. That said, the laughter is not from schadenfreude, but from the surprising ways the story takes you, the gruesomeness of some of the situations, and so on. While most definitely a slow, brooding movie - it's also a really funny one. Especially some of the reoccurring motifs, like the situation around the door, a letter, and the physical transformation of Jennifer Jason Leigh's character.
People have compared this movie to an Agatha Christie novel, and the set up is in many ways hearkens back to those kind of stories. But it is still distinctly a Tarantino take on it. There are several spots in the movie where a Poirot-esque scene (where a character reveals what he has learned by deduction) would not have been out of place - but Tarantino doesn't let much plot be revealed in this way. A lot of the dialogue in this movie consists of the character's talking about the other character's back stories (or their own, for that matter). And considering how trust and lies are important themes in this movie - it kind of makes sense. It does take a bit away from the realism, but Tarantino has a way of creating a cinematic reality that is believable despite the exaggerated situations and dialogue.
Tarantino succeeds in combining a slow pace with sudden bursts of action. Through most of the movie, the tension is high, and you know something will go down soon. Here is my main critique of this movie, because at some points the movie loses its momentum, leaving me impatient. It usually grabbed me back in shortly, but these dry spells were noticeable.
On a more personal note: I had really been looking forward to Morricone's return to making a western soundtrack. The result is good, really good, but I had expected the soundtrack to be more like the ones he made for Sergio Leone. Seeing as how such a soundtrack would not be that fitting for this movie, it's ultimately a good thing he didn't. So while I am satisfied with a great soundtrack used well, I'm also a bit disappointed for what I didn't get.