Movie Review: The Hateful Eight

There are many things to like about Quentin Tarantino's 8th movie. His sharp dialog is there in a big way and very often strange, unique and funny. The way he tells a story is still there and this movie is kind of like Pulp Fiction which came out in 1994 in that the story is told in a circular fashion although his method in this movie is different than Pulp Fiction.

The problems with this movie will be immediately obvious to everyone who sees it. The repeated and constant use of the "N" word which caused great controversy in Tarantino's last movie "Django Unchained" and even caused Spike Lee to come out and object to the constant use of this most horrible word. This movie uses the "N" word so much its almost as if Tarantino is trying to snub his nose at Spike Lee for objecting to his use of the word in his last movie. The point of all this is very obvious. How much is too much? The "N" word is probably the most horrible and hateful word in the English language and it was definitely used in the 1850-1900's in this country much more than it is now, especially in the West and the South; but at a certain point you have to realize that the word is being overused and perhaps being used only for the sake of using it. I estimate that during this almost 3 hour movie that the "N" word might have been used as many as 150 times, which is way too much.

Other issues with this movie include the incredible gore and grotesque scenes of death and violence and murder which are very typical of all Tarantino movies but this one may have gone a little too far in some scenes. The only woman in this movie played by Jennifer Jason Leigh is beaten up mercilessly by her captor played by Kurt Russel almost from the beginning of the movie. Jennifer's character, Daisy Domergue is beaten repeatedly in the head and face more than any woman has ever been beaten up in probably any movie. There are scenes of blood on two occasions being sprayed over her face, which for most would also probably be considered way over the top and too disgusting than is necesary. So how much is too much? In the Hateful 8, Tarrantino seems to be trying to find out where the boundaries are and exactly how far any movie can go without being censored. If that is not enough there is a scene of male frontal nudity followed by oral sex between two men that I cannot remember ever seeing in any movie. If there was ever a point that I thought was way over the top in any R rated movie, this was it. There is a chance that Tarrantino had to fight to keep this movie from being rated X mainly because of this one scene.

The majority of this movie, perhaps as much as 90% are played out in an old huge log cabin where the 9 inhabitants are snowed in because of a blizzard outside. From this point on, the movie is carried by biting and very well written Tarrantino dialogue as the 9 inhabitants, not 8 as is the title of the movie, argue and talk back and forth and invoke anger and eventual violence. The actor with by far the best and most dialogue in this movie is Samuel L. Jackson who was also the star of Pulp Fiction. Some of his lines in this movie surpass his performance in Pulp Fiction and he steals this movie with his acting and speaking ability, reciting some of Tarrantino's best lines.

For fans of Quentin Tarrantino movies this one is must see. For people who hate violence this movie should definitely be avoided. For people who hate the overuse of the N-word this movie should definitely be avoided because its clear that this word was way overused in this movie.  For me I recommend this movie, but mostly because of my respect for the writing ability and hard work of Tarrantino and dialogue in this movie which is excellent. Also prepare yourself for a long movie as this one runs almost 3 hours.





The Hateful 8 IMDB