Red Blood and Grey Gunsmoke Against a Snowy White Curtain

Rating: 5/10 (10 October 2017)

In the mid-19th century, a blinding snowstorm blows several crooked paths to one central location: a haberdashery in the middle of nowhere. Here, a motley gathering of bounty hunters, fugitives, lawmen and soldiers takes place, but nothing is quite as it seems. Eight may walk in, but far fewer will see the sunlight when this storm clears. Structurally, The Hateful Eight is quite similar to Tarantino's first effort, Reservoir Dogs. A wide variety of brash, violent, colorful characters, bouncing off the walls (not to mention each other) in an enclosed space while an unseen threat keeps them right where they are. Secrets abound, betrayals too, with the audience kept as much in the dark as the participants. Both are reminiscent of a one-set stage show, really, with the added benefit of cinematography. The biggest stumbling block here is setup, specifically how much of it there is before the plot feels ready to proceed. I'm a proponent of establishing things, of not rushing in with guns blazing, but this may be an extreme example. The first act alone runs for longer than many feature films, and while there's some good character stuff in that space, it surely could've achieved the same purpose in half the time or less. The auteur's infamously witty, cutting dialog is absent for this portion of the film, too, which may have contributed to that lethargy. Those who tough it out are rewarded when the pace finally quickens, leading to a typically Tarantino climax - grisly, shocking and wild - but that's awfully familiar territory. For now, this director can still deliver the goods with his back up against the wall, but the time feels nigh for an evolution. He can't answer every riddle with two barrels of lead and a wet, crimson explosion... can he?