The Critical Frog: The Hateful Eight

Whatever your feelings are about a topic, you do need to give credit where credit is due. It's quite easy to identify why people enjoy some things that you may not. I was never into the Saw films, but I do see why the creativity and brutality of the series appeals to others. And for those of you who dislike directors like Quentin Tarantino, I would like to take the opportunity to not only hate the opinion in secret, but to realize that my taste in film can be different than yours. Tarantino is a master of hard-hitting and fast-paced action, not the suspenseful and slow film that so many others enjoy. I assume the reason Quentin Tarantino directed this film is to show that he could do slow drama as well. Oh, don't get me wrong- there's action in spades. Just not how much you'd expect. The Hateful Eight really seems more like a Beat Takeshi film- but this is certainly not a bad thing.

The Hateful Eight is the eighth film by acclaimed director Tarantino, who's past work you may identify as Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill films, among others. In typical Tarantino style, there's quite a fair share of blood and guts on display here- it is a murder mystery and all- but when it happens, it's short and sweet. The fact that it stars talented actors (including the legendarily foul-mouthed Samuel L. Jackson) is also a nice bonus.

Unlike many of the mysteries in modern media, this one takes a small, one-roomed store in the middle of a blizzard and sets it in the wild, wild west. Samuel L. Jackson plays Marshall Marquis Warren, an old bounty hunter preparing to drop off some bodies in the town of Red Rocks. He hitches a ride with fellow bounty hunter John Ruth (known to stay to watch the hangings of his victims) and his latest bounty- Domergue, an outlaw with a 10,000 dollar bounty on her head. They also meet Chris Mannix, a black-hating sherrif-to-be, who quickly (but dismayingly) becomes an addition to the party. Stopped by a blizzard, the four and their coach driver OB decide to hold out in Minnie's Haberdashery, which is home to another group stopped by the blizzard. These unusual suspects are an old general, a Mexican worker, a polite Englishman and a quiet cowboy, who appear to hit it off with the cast- until weather causes them to shack together and tensions rise, eventually leading to Domergue letting it slip that one of the people in the shack is working with her in an effort to set her free. It's a slow-paced race to discover the traitor before they kill everyone in the room and set the prisoner free. But when everyone seems to have their own motives, who's the dead man? But more importantly, will anyone survive to figure out?

There's a lot of tension in this post-Civil War inn- while putting two Confederate supporters in the room with an African-American Union Marshall is never a good idea, bringing up their past misdeeds can't help matters. The film has it's fair share of cursing and crudeness (leave it to Samuel L. Jackson to make the word 'Dingus' sound threatening), but handles it with a historic, and sometimes appropriate, response.

I've always been a fan of mysteries, and indeed this one delivers- clues are all over the place, and if you've got a good eye and a sharp mind, there's a chance you can figure it out before the narrator (Tarantino himself) begins to piece it together for you. I actually found myself guessing and coming up with theories and motives for the characters, then having to cross them out as a result of plot twists. And that's what a mystery is supposed to do, isn't it? Keeping you on the edge of your seat and guessing is the sign of any good film, but it's what a mystery needs to survive. And here, not only does it survive, it thrives. Quentin Tarantino keeps us curious with high tensions, high spirits, and above all, lots and lots of blood. Grab a band of your friends and hitch a coach to the next premiere.

OVERALL RATING: 9/10
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Should we ask why the film is called "The Hateful Eight" when there's actually nine characters? Given, there are only eight suspects (as one is already the outlaw), but is seems a little odd. What about "The Nefarious Nine"? I guess that's a film for another era, presumably starring Robo-Samuel L. Jackson and robo-friends.