Exhaustingly, depressively rage-inducing.

Rating: 5/10 (2 January 2016)

This is unlike any movie that Tarantino has done before. It does have hints of the style expressed in Django, and it of course still stays true to his very unique touch. But the difference here is that none of his characters in the Hateful 8 are interesting, in the traditional sense of the word. They don't develop constructive bonds. Every single lead character in this movie is despicable, and it is hard to take a look at their souls, which in a positive movie would have been welcomed and uplifting.
Imagine the single person you hate most, the embodiment of your Achilles' Heel of your faith in humanity, multiply that amount of despisal – of hate – by 8, and let them all mingle with each other. Also allow them all to have a common goal – money. Now imagine they are all in each others' way.
That is exactly what this movie is. That rage you feel when you clench your fist is how you will feel about each character. There are no words for just how low these people will make you feel, how mad you will be at their very existence. It was the most stressful movie I have ever sat through.
My emotions are very mixed. On one hand, I may not ever see this movie again, due solely to how angry it made me feel. On the other hand... that is exactly the goal of this movie.
The acting is incredible. You forget that you are looking at huge stars who have stayed at the top of Hollywood for most of their careers. These are completely different people. The setting probably helped with that; the tiny merchandise store in the middle of nowhere is a strong crucible for these characters to portray themselves and to mold the scene. However this isolation may have been a little too effective, for there were no outside resources with which we could take a brief step back from this oddly mesmerizing theatrical performance.
Originally, you come to understand that these men – and this woman – are probably not all that bad, and that their misdeeds and morale are simply irritable. Oh, how wrong you will be. The story which unfolds from Warren's (Jackson) mouth regarding the death of a significant son... this is probably the real turning point here. From there there is projected onto you some of the foulest events that you will ever witness in a single sitting. Though the gore was actually quite mild for Tarantino, its impact was fourfold in this movie, due to its restraint and also to the caustic atmosphere present throughout.
It is difficult to allow joyous bonds between characters to flourish in cinema, but with hateful characters, the train could easily spiral out of control, and I feel that this movie did just that. I'm not sure if over-the-top anguish was Tarantino's goal, but that is what he achieved. Bravo. I have never felt more upset at a movie than I did this one, not for some strange moral standard that I expect in any given movie, but just because that is how the characters made me feel. Tarantino's directing and writing expressed the same abysmal, cold-hearted morale as his lead stars. There is some subtle hint at modern societal tension at play here, but honestly you will not care. You will be too preoccupied with the abhorrence unfolding before your eyes.
There are two definite points that stood out to me which took away from the experience. First was the dead giveaway of a certain conspiracy which would have added to the mystery if it had been concealed, and second was a flashback that was unavoidable but did shake the flow of the movie up. Besides this I see little that could have gone wrong.
This movie is an anti-movie. There are no bonds between these men save psychopathy. You feel no remorse for any of these characters as they are offed one by one, and you will probably feel relieved after the movie is over.
I do think it should be experienced though, just for the pure cinematic experience of its glory. I think in time I will come to love it. For now, though, I need to lie down.