Quentin Tarantino’s newest film is impossible to hate.

The eighth film by the renowned filmmaker, “The Hateful Eight” is a Western mystery film with all the glorious, violent, foul-mouthed, outrageous, and bloody trademarks of a Tarantino movie.

After his first Western film in 2012, the wildly successful “Django Unchained,” Tarantino, returns to the big screen with “The Hateful Eight,”  which is set a few years after the American Civil War.

The film follows a group of eight strangers who are forced to seek refuge at a stagecoach stopover during a blizzard. As tensions and suspicions rise, the eight quickly turn on each other and realize that one of them isn’t who they appear to be.

The film stars an ensemble cast of actors from previous Tarantino films, including Samuel L. Jackson (“Pulp Fiction”) as Major Marquis Warren, “the Bounty Hunter;” Kurt Russell (“Death Proof”) as John Ruth, “the Hangman;” Walton Goggins (“Django Unchained”) as Chris Mannix, “the Sheriff;” Tim Roth (“Reservoir Dogs”) as Oswaldo Mobray, “the Little Man;” Michael Madsen (“Reservoir Dogs”) as Joe Gage, “the Cow Puncher;” and Bruce Dern (“Django Unchained”) as General Sandy Smithers, “the Confederate.” Demián Bichir as Bob “the Mexican” and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue “the Prisoner” are new to Tarantino films.

“The Hateful Eight” has everything you’d expect to see in a Tarantino movie: great characters, a dark sense of humor, a ridiculous amount of blood and gore, insane gun violence, excessive swearing, over-the-top action, references to a shared universe, excellent dialogue, and a truly intriguing story.

As with all Tarantino films, it was a bloody and crazy good time. It is extremely well shot and filmed, courtesy of cinematographer Robert Richardson, with very strong performances from its ensemble cast, particularly Leigh, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

The film was also nominated for two other Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography for Richardson, and  Best Original Score for Ennio Morricone, who captures the eerie and mysterious tone of the mystery with the first complete Western score in 35 years.

Once again proving Tarantino’s directorial and writing skills, the film is intense and highly unpredictable, and has some incredibly shocking scenes, even by Tarantino’s standards. The “murder-mystery” feel makes the film seem like a darker, bloodier, more violent version of the popular board game “Clue,” and the story is reminiscent of Tarantino’s first film “Reservoir Dogs.”

Despite a great story, “The Hateful Eight” does drag at more than three hours. Although very good, the film seemed inferior to his previous efforts films, due to increasingly high expectations from fans.

I give “The Hateful Eight” a rating of three and a half out of four Grizzy Paws.