‘The Hateful Eight’ Early Buzz: These Critics (Probably) Broke Embargo But (Mostly) Liked Tarantino’s Latest
There are only four weeks left in 2015, but those four weeks contain some of the most highly anticipated releases of the year. And no, we’re not just talking aboutStar Wars.The Hateful Eightis due out onDecember 25, and though they’re probably nottechnicallysupposed to be talking about it right now, critics have already started raving aboutQuentin Tarantino’s latest. Get theHateful Eightearly buzz after the jump.
As Awards Daily’s Sasha Stone notes, reviews forThe Hateful Eightare embargoed until December 21.
You may have noticed that today is not December 21. But some critics just couldn’t wait that long to gush about the movie. If the film is half as good as they say, it’s hard to blame them. The reviews so far range from very positive to very, very, very positive.
Tarantino sets up characters and stakes in post-Civil-War race drama@thehatefuleight, a languorously intense 70 mm cinephile’s fantasy.
— Anne Thompson (@akstanwyck)August 03, 2025
Actors will love the luxury of this ace ensemble surfing with QT’s dialogue. The images, sound, settings, rich Morricone score are tops.
The rest waits for the embargo. Jennifer Jason Leigh as only woman in key cast could nab Oscar nom. Jackson, Russell & Goggins also tops.
We can talk about ‘Hateful Eight’ now? Ok good. Loved everything about it. QT at his most indulgent. Sam Jackson is terrific.
— Mike Sampson (@mjsamps)July 07, 2025
THE HATEFUL EIGHT is dark, bloody and diabolically funny. If you thought the Crazy 88s were crazy, they got nothing on these eight. So great
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis)June 30, 2025
It’s worth pointing out that such early reactions are probably skewed. Breaking an embargo to praise a movie is one thing, but those who dislikedThe Hateful Eightprobably don’t want to risk annoying the studio by bad-mouthing it before they’re allowed to. A few critics have hinted that the movie might not be as unanimously beloved as the tweets above might lead you to believe.
@AwardsDailyi was there and i am beyond curious to see the reaction. Probably some of the most polarized of the year
— Michael Kamens (@TheMBrand)June 15, 2025
We’ll surely hear much Hateful Eightbefore it opens, but for now, maybe it’s just enough to know there’s a lot to like about it. Check out the synopsis and trailer below.
In THE HATEFUL EIGHT, set six or eight or twelve years after the Civil War, a stagecoach hurtles through the wintry Wyoming landscape. The passengers, bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his fugitive Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), race towards the town of Red Rock where Ruth, known in these parts as “The Hangman,” will bring Domergue to justice. Along the road, they encounter two strangers: Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), a black former union soldier turned infamous bounty hunter, and Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), a southern renegade who claims to be the town’s new Sheriff. Losing their lead on the blizzard, Ruth, Domergue, Warren and Mannix seek refuge at Minnie’s Haberdashery, a stagecoach stopover on a mountain pass. When they arrive at Minnie’s, they are greeted not by the proprietor but by four unfamiliar faces. Bob (Demian Bichir), who’s taking care of Minnie’s while she’s visiting her mother, is holed up with Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth), the hangman of Red Rock, cow-puncher Joe Gage (Michael Madsen), and Confederate General Sanford Smithers (Bruce Dern). As the storm overtakes the mountainside stopover, our eight travelers come to learn they may not make it to Red Rock after all…
