The Hateful Eight

Reservoir Dogs goes West in writer/director Quentin Tarantino's eighth feature, paying homage to the cowboy TV shows of his youth and once again, the Sergio Corbucci back catalogue (his Django Unchained inspiration). In a post Civil War America still being torn apart by North/South conflicts, eight random bounty hunters, soldiers and outlaws are brought together by an epic snowstorm at a stagecoach stopover. Not by chance it turns out, as this allegorical vision of a totally immoral western frontier explodes in typical Tarantino, blood-spattered fashion. Looking gorgeous thanks to the vintage 70mm Ultra Panavision process, the dialogue-heavy, slow-burning first half finally saddles up when hidden motives and sly betrayals are colourfully revealed and the imaginative jagged edges of the sneaky plot become apparent. It's a bit of a slog sometimes but Tarantino's brutal wit, fistful of upended clichés and fine cast eventually bring it to a polished and satisfying head.