Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'The Hateful Eight'

Written by Scott Edwards and John Edward Betancourt

Scott's Review
Some people have an easy time recognizing which people are good, and which people are bad. Unfortunately, it is a blurred line for most of us and while we tend to think we are a good judge of character, we are sometimes completely wrong. As the art of deception has become common place in this world, even your best friends may be hiding something from you and when you find out what it is, it is too late. It is always better to go with your first impressions when meeting somebody new, even though they may be wrong, you will not be kicking yourself later on because you never questioned them in the first place.

On a snowy trek in the wilderness of Wyoming, John Ruth and his prisoner Daisy Domergue are comfortable in their stage coach. Not expecting any stops along the way to Red Rock, John is shocked to see a stranger on the side of the road that is looking for a lift. Being careful about who he lets near the stage, John sees that it is his old friend Major Marquis Warren who is in need of a lift. With plenty of questions asked and seeing that Marquis is not interested in his cargo, John allows the Civil War veteran to join in on his adventure.

Knowing a little about Marquis, John continues to keep an eye on him, making sure that he is not eyeing Daisy since she is worth ten thousand dollars to him. When chatting, John brings up the Letter from Abraham Lincoln that Marquis keeps with him at all times. Reading it again, John feels secure about keeping Marquis with him, but when the group runs into another stranger on the side of the road, John starts to question if they are working together. As Chris Mannix approaches the stage, he is put through the ringer of questions as well and saying that he is the new sheriff of Red Rock does not get him any leeway from John as he is only focused on getting his reward for Daisy. 

Seeing the disdain that Mannix has for his other passenger, John breathes easy and the group makes their way up to Minnie’s Haberdashery to wait out the blizzard that will have them trapped for a number of days. Pulling up and meeting Bob at the door, John is secure in staying the night, but Marquis is questioning everything about the stranger that Minnie has left in charge. With a group of unknowns in the house, John is still concerned about his prize and tries to get to know everyone’s story, but what he cannot take into account is that Marquis is ready to settle old scores. While talking with old General Sandy Smithers, Marquis has a new target and killing a man has come easy for him over the years. But when Marquis takes care of an old problem, someone else in the house is looking to free Daisy from the bounty hunter that is keeping her under lock and chain and everyone could be considered an accessory. 

One of the things that I can say about this movie is that I didn’t see it coming. When it comes to Quentin Tarantino movies, the more recent ones have a different feel and they are growing on me very quickly. With a couple of westerns under his belt now, he may be the only director that could be able to bring the genre back. I loved the interactions in the movie, from people yelling at one another to shut the door, Daisy getting rocked for speaking out of line, or just the hatred that some of the characters have for each other. I must admit however that I busted a gut when the group finds out that the coffee was poisoned and started dying off one by one. I was blown away by the performances once again and with a cast of great stars, it is hard to skip this film, but I think that Walton Goggins (Chris Mannix) stole the show, along with Tim Roth (Oswaldo Mobray), two actors that I have not seen in years, who were totally able to hang with the big guns.

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John's Review
It seems as though every single time Quentin Tarantino comes out with a new movie, there is a grand debate that pops up on all my social media news feeds revolving around whether or not the man is a talented director or a hack that needs to hang up his slate and disappear into the shadows of Hollywood and well...I find this constant debate intriguing. I say that because I personally find Tarantino's work fascinating and have definitely enjoyed his films over the years. So needless to say, I have never quite understood the controversy the man seems to produce in cinema...that is until I settled in to watch the eighth Quentin Tarantino film...The Hateful Eight.

Now, I do realize that I just typed a loaded statement, one that essentially crucifies Tarantino and logic would say that I am about to bash this film into next week, but that's simply not the case. You see, first and foremost I liked The Hateful Eight. It is a well-paced throwback western epic that moves so smoothly thanks to its vibrant characters that you never once notice the epic three hour-ish running time.  

But when I say I understand why some cinephiles aren't big fans of QT's work...I'm not kidding because this particular entry in the man's career is also a grand experiment in filmmaking. Granted most if not all of his stories are experiments in their own right, but this is the first time that Quentin decided to play it straight, inject his own brand of filmmaking and fuse two genres at the same time, and it is because of that that one can see why this particular movie infuriates people. After all, this is a western epic through and through, one worthy of the classics in how it is shot and even how it is scored since Ennio Morricone's soundtrack for the film reflects its characters and environment. It is beautiful, haunted and angry all at once. 

But outside of the setting, aesthetics and timeline, that's where the western epic ends and the Tarantino world begins as his trademark dialogue and violent settings come into play and well...it works, but more on that in a moment because I did mention a fusion of genres and it's clear the 1982 horror film, The Thing also heavily influences the film with a grand who's who mystery that you have to see to believe and at times...the violence seems like something straight out of a horror flick. But, back to those all-important Tarantino trademarks because they a touch jarring, since the film starts out unlike anything I've ever seen from the director before, and it slowly moves into a decidedly anti politically correct film when it comes to its dialogue, and it instantly shocks you to see hints of Reservoir Dogs come to life on the screen in an era where it seems like such talk and fury shouldn't exist. 

But perhaps the greatest trick the film manages to pull off...is the fact that it's title truly reflects the characters. Outside of a handful of bit parts, for the most part we spend our time hanging out with angry and bitter people and that's also something new for Tarantino since usually...there is someone we can relate to in his films or there is someone we find to be a wonderful character and that's simply not the case here. So, when all is said and done I can see why some fans of film are pretty upset with this particular offering, but something important has to be taken into consideration by those not keen on this one...the fact that Tarantino has announced he is two films away from retirement. Why is that relevant? Because Quentin knows he's already made films a little friendlier to the masses, this was made to satisfy his own personal goals. This was a chance to experiment with some of his favorite genres and pay tribute to what influenced him most and while yes...he's done that plenty over the years, he's never done it on this grand a scale and quite frankly...he's earned that right and the end result of this grand experiment is an enjoyable sweeping epic that feels like the motion pictures of yesteryear but also never strays from the core elements that made Quentin Tarantino the household name he is today.

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