Positively Unapologetic Film Reviews

2015 gave us some solid films. Paul Walker’s posthumous sendoff in Furious 7, A24’s Ex Machina, the epic music biopic Straight Outta Compton, and many others. This year is also the 10th anniversary of Quentin Tarantino’s “8^th film”. Therefore, I chose it for my 10th review (COMMENT: Yes, I can count. Numerically, it’s the 11^th review, but I have chosen to adopt QT’s method of numerical order and ignore one just because!). This film is the craziest of all of QT’s films, beating 1994’s Pulp Fiction in that regard. It takes place in post-Civil War Wyoming, so there’s no crazy drug overdoses, no military officers describing the use of a prison wallet, and no hitmen debating religious Epiphones in a diner.  Instead, this film depicts outlaws in a time where the law was more like guidelines, not everyone was equal by any means, and sensitivity was not a thing.  The Hateful Eight is a depiction of these times from the mind of Quentin Tarantino. (COMMENT: Oh LAWD!)

The story is about bounty hunters just after the Civil War that are trying to bring a female killer to justice. (COMMENT: Want me to spell it out? They’re transporting her for execution via the rope in a nearby town.) However, they’re forced to take refuge in a boarding house during a blizzard along with 5 or so other “characters”. It becomes evident that at least some of the people that they are shacked up with are her fellow gang members that are there to break her out. No one knows who to trust, and everybody’s out to kill one another. Oh, and by the way, they all hate each other. (COMMENT: And you thought the title was just playful….) Overall, it’s an homage to QT’s first hit, Reservoir Dogs. The film takes place in a single setting filled with killers, criminals, money, false identities, and paranoia. Unlike the Reservoir Dizzos, though. This film is a mirror image in that instead of criminals trying to hide out from the law, it’s the law that is actually trying to stay safe from the criminals. Despite the slight change in ambience and general themes, the film is definitely an original work of art, and QT takes the grit to a whole new level, making it his true no boundaries masterpiece.

It goes without saying that it has the most cursing and most nudity of any QT film, but the real highlights up the ante on straight insanity. It has the most racial slurs. Mostly the “n word”…actually, probably only the “n word”. It’s in almost every line of the script. The amount of use beats even the Eddie Murphey classic Coming to America. Hateful Eight has the most descriptions of the male sex organ, ranging from dingus to huevos. It has not only the most blood, but also has the most severed limbs, brain matter, etc.

The film has a star-studded cast consisting of a mix of Quentin Tarantino faves such as Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern, but also some other big names including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins (COMMENT: No, he’s not talkin’ about goggins for your noggins), Demian Bechir, and Channing Tatum. It even reunites Tim Roth with Samuel L. Jackson (previously seen together in Pulp Fiction) and Michael Madsen (previously paired with Roth in Reservoir Dogs), may he rest in peace. Jennifer Jason Leigh gives a fantastic performance as the no shits given outlaw who’s being escorted to be hanged. Her demeanor is maintained with the precision she has brought with her craft in films such as Dolores Claiborne, Rush, and Single White Female. The animation she brings in her attitude and pride as a notorious outlaw would even make Heath Ledger clap.

The presentation of the film feels like a spaghetti western. For the uninitiated, the term “spaghetti western” refers to westerns filmed abroad in Europe (dominantly Southern Italy) on lower budgets than that of a John Ford Hollywood epic. Typically the storylines are fiery and violence driven. The white hat hero vs black hat villain rules also generally don’t apply in spaghetti westerns. (COMMENT: In other words, don’t expect John Wayne to ride in and shoot the main villain while all the other black hats have the aim of a stormtrooper.) Like spaghetti westerns, Hateful Eight is raw, slow-burning, and features morally blurred protagonists like bounty hunters. However, the dominant difference between the two is the setting. (COMMENT: That and QT’s budget is like 4 times more) These films have a southwestern USA setting (i.e. Texas/Mexico border towns usually). There’s usually bright colored, well-lit desert terrain, and characters suffering from dehydration. One could argue that the desert setting adds to feel of the fire blazing in a spaghetti western’s story. Hateful Eight takes place in a freakin’ blizzard in the Wyoming mountains!  Thus delivering a cold and dark feel throughout the film. Stone cold outlaws, cold attitudes conveyed with every threat and insult, the dark lighting, etc. Hateful Eight has the grit level of a spaghetti western, just on the opposite side of the spectrum.  

Sealing the true spaghetti western feel, the musical score was done by the great Ennio Morricone. Morricone is best known for his spaghetti western soundtracks such as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, crime dramas like The Untouchables, and drama classics Cinema Paradiso and The Mission. (COMMENT: Still drawing a blank? Okay….you know that song every Metallica concert starts with?  That was Morricone’s most well known track!) Why is this such a big deal? QT doesn’t typically give us a straight scored film. (COMMENT: HELL! Any “score” in his films are actually tracks from previous films in history!) Usually he interjects some sort of rock, techno, pop, folk, etc songs in his films. Inglourious Basterds had “Putting out the Fire” by David Bowie, Pulp Fiction had non-stop 60s beach music, Once Upon a Time…..in Hollywood had an entirely 60s pop soundtrack, and Kill Bill even had the Green Hornet theme and “Satisfied Mind” by Johnny Cash! The fact that QT worked in a legit original score by the master of spaghetti western scores, is Earth-shattering!

I have been referring to The Hateful Eight as “gritty”. I can’t even go with gritty, to be honest. The film is the definition of “positively unapologetic.” It is just all madness and all badness. Timed at just under 3 hours, from start to finish, it only feels like it was no more than 2 hours long. QT’s fantastic storyline and crazy if not borderline psychotic script, the cast’s amazing acting. The cold and raw presentation, Morricone’s last great original score, etc.  This not only adds up to be one of Quentin Tarantino’s masterpieces, but possibly even his finest work. Personal opinion though, I do consider this to be one of the greatest westerns ever created. I urge everybody to watch. But seriously, not only is it a Quentin Tarantino film, it is the one that would make even fans of Prime Video’s Hazbin Hotel blush.