The Hateful Eight
2015 · Quentin Tarantino · 168 min · Crime / Drama / Western
The Hateful Eight is Tarantino's most claustrophobic film, trapping eight untrustworthy strangers in a single room during a blizzard and letting paranoia, deception, and violence do the rest. Samuel L. Jackson commands the screen, Ennio Morricone's original score is magnificent, and the 70mm Ultra Panavision photography is gorgeous even when it's capturing ugliness. The three-hour runtime is a real obstacle, the first half prioritizes setup over momentum, and the relentless brutality of the second half will push some viewers past their limit. It's Tarantino at his most divisive, a film that some consider his most underrated and others his most excessive.