Quote attribution sites such as BrainyQuote have come to the rescue of many a writer exasperated by writer’s block. Partly because it appears as though pretty much anyone can contribute to the website, meaning there is an unlimited pool of relevant quotes from a vast reservoir of literary and philanthropic brains, as well as famous people of particular influence at your disposal. Who knew that phrases such as “Work hard, play harder,” “The World is the problem; the atomic bomb is the answer,” and perhaps the most inspiring, “Life's a b*tch and then you die, that's why we get high” can be traced back to lawyer, anti-colonialist, and revolutionary Mahatma Gandhi?

The same website that returned these results also ascribed “Violence is one of the most fun things to watch” to Quentin Tarantino, and because it fits this article's narrative, let’s circumvent the inevitable questioning of its legitimacy… it certainly sounds like something he’d say, especially when examining the blood and guts of the director’s previous works, specifically that of 2015’s The Hateful Eight.

In the film, Tarantino snows us in with seven ravenous murderers as we are treated to a good, old-fashioned, and arguably unconventional whodunit. After his punchy 2012 Western Django Unchained, which took approximately half a billion at the box office, he returned three years later with a further case of the Spaghetti Western bug, with the more refined and more cinematically impressive The Hateful Eight.

Kicking off in the blizzard-battered terrains of 19th-century Wyoming with the chance encounter of two bounty hunters, the film follows stranded Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and “The Hangman” John Ruth (Kurt Russell), on his way to the town of Red Rock with his bounty Daisy Domergue (a feral and brilliant Jennifer Jason Leigh) as they shoot this three-hour extravaganza into action. As the naturally suspicious mind of Ruth reluctantly agrees to give his fellow bounty hunter a ride into town, his suspiciousness quickly turns into paranoia when Chris Mannix (Walter Goggins) stops his horse-drawn carriage, claiming he’s to be named the next Sheriff of Red Rock and eventually hitches a ride. Rolling into a Minnie-less Haberdashery, occupied by a peculiar assortment of men, The Hateful Eight begins to unravel and starts its descent into a depraved murder mystery.

Taming Tarantino... Kinda

Tim Roth in Tarantino's movie Hateful 8
The Weinstein Company

The Hateful Eight isn’t a film that is often considered by cinephiles and Tarantino fans as being amongst the likes of Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown as one of his best. It was a movie (and perhaps still is) that sailed massively under the radar by the Kill Bill creator’s standards, with the releases of his films being major industry events. Yet, the 19th-century Cluedo-style murder mystery at Minnie’s Haberdashery doesn’t get the credit or acclaim it deserves.

Related: The Hateful Eight Was Pitched as an iPhone Release, Tarantino Stormed Out of Meeting

This is a Quentin Tarantino movie that, despite an arguable case of self-indulgence, is an exhilarating fusion of his best traits. He successfully blends the typical outlandish, bloodthirsty violence with a refined maturity, that somehow withstands the relentlessness of his directorial hedonism. More than any other Tarantino 'revisionist' films which play with historical truth (Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), The Hateful Eight is a brilliant deconstruction of American history.

While it is a movie that manages to comprise the contents of a Tarantino bingo card, the narrative is meticulously thought-out and is constantly summoning the audience to second guess what is happening in front of our very eyes. The Hateful Eight is a confusion of crossed wires and ulterior motives, except there is nowhere to run, baby, nowhere to hide… the entire blood-soaked gore-fest ensues right where the actors stand; there are no winners. Comparably, by most stretches, this is a film that is unrestrained and let-loose, governed not by discipline but by an insatiable appetite to butcher every character possible, yet by the same token, the film never loses itself, its structure, or what it’s trying to achieve — a depiction of American carnage, racism, and paranoia that feels eerily prescient in our conspiratorial times.

Tarantino's Cast Controls the Action

Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Hateful Eight
The Weinstein Company

Movies set in one location rely heavily on their cast; from Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men to John Hughes’ Locke, and of course, Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, we have played witness to some of the finest acting in the confines of predominantly one room. In the case of The Hateful Eight, we are literally nailed in with two slabs of wood and a treacherous blizzard outside to boot, as Minnie’s Haberdashery becomes a refuge for the evil and morally challenged.

Related: Samuel L. Jackson's Most Iconic Movie Moments

Like the film, which is split across four chapters, the duty of the lead protagonist is shared across three characters, with Kurt Russell’s John Ruth, Samuel L. Jackson’s Major Marquis, and Walter Goggins’ Chris Mannix respectively taking their turn to steal the show. Russell is imperious as Ruth, a revered yet unashamedly ignorant man who has his eyes on the $10,000 prize for his recently captured bounty, Daisy. Ruth is, well, ruthless in his pursuit of the cash reward waiting for him at Red Rock. Chris Mannix is the confederate hillbilly, played so earnestly in a career-defining performance from Goggins.

Samuel L. Jackson Steals The Hateful Eight

Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight
The Weinstein Company

Yet, where The Hateful Eight is concerned, it’s a Samuel L. Jackson world, and we are all just living in it. Forget his devilish display in Django Unchained and his profanely philosophical rendition of Jules in Pulp Fiction, Jackson’s performance in The Hateful Eight is feasibly his most emphatically magnificent to date. In a room full of domineering characters, his personality, charisma, and inescapable screen presence shines the brightest. The audience is continually burdened with the same questions. Is he the good guy or the bad guy? Are there any good guys? He manages to switch effortlessly from the most intelligent, rationally composed man in the room to this trigger-happy menace who wants nothing more than to see everyone’s demise.

No Quentin Tarantino movie is without elements of comedy, and Samuel L. Jackson’s Major Marquis provides them in abundance. He is also a symbol of the film’s biggest social issue, which is the racial discrimination from the common white man, especially of those from southern confederate states. As the movie’s sole Black character, he is subjected to persistent racist torment and ridicule, and it highlights that although there was legal reform, as well as congress’ abolition of slavery, much of the prejudiced societal view remained (and remains) thereafter.

The Hateful Eight is unapologetically QT — the emphasis on cutting dialogue and sanguinary imagery is ever-present, and the stellar acting displays and clear narrative pathway keep it running smoothly. However, not only are these things elevated to perhaps the most artful degree in Tarantino's filmography, they also accompany perhaps the most intelligent and deeply meaningful film in his career. With an exquisite score from the legendary composer Ennio Morricone (who received his sole competitive Oscar win for this film), this is a thriller that takes every agonizing step with us, not for us.