Inline image 4Courtesy of Weinstein Company

“The Hateful Eight” is the cinematic equivalent of eating an entire meal of potato chips. Sure, it’s good while you’re going through it, but as soon as you’re done you feel ashamed, cheated and paradoxically empty inside.

“The Hateful Eight” is definitely a Tarantino movie. I know that because it features blood,  ultra-violence, a story told out of chronological order, Samuel L. Jackson yelling “motherfucker” and a keen fascination with the word “nigger.” In fact, the only thing it was missing, besides fine cinematic craftsmanship, was use of the “people looking down at something POV shot.” Maybe this is a sign he’s growing as a filmmaker.

Now, I’m not going to spoil “The Hateful Eight,” but I will say that the movie built really good atmosphere in the first half of its three-hour runtime. There’s tension, mystery and black humor all leading up to the first climactic gunshot. However, the movie then evaporates all of its wonderful tension and turns into something I can only describe as a blood orgy.
Also, there’s a lovely message at the end about togetherness in the face of adversity, or something. Think “Selma” directed by Jeffrey Dahmer.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars