Few directors on the planet come close to matching what Quentin Tarantino has been able to achieve in Hollywood, and after making some of the best films of their respective era, the director has nothing left to accomplish. He still has some movies he would like to make, but his legacy is already established.
The Hateful Eight was rereleased back in 2015, and some fans might be surprised to learn that an iconic horror movie had a huge influence on the film. Not only was this horror classic influential, but it was also a movie that Tarantino watched with the cast of The Hateful Eight.
Let’s take a look at The Thing’s influence on The Hateful Eight and the connection that the movies share with one another.
‘The Thing’ Influenced ‘The Hateful Eight’
Quentin Tarantino is a master at tapping into his influences when making a film, and thanks to being a cinephile, the director and screenwriter has a large pool of movies to choose from. When making The Hateful Eight, Tarantino cited The Thing, which starred Kurt Russell, as his primary source of inspiration.
When speaking with The Telegraph, Tarantino said, “The Thing is the one movie that is the most influential movie on this movie per se.”
For the unfamiliar, The Thing is a classic horror movie that found a massive cult following after receiving a thrashing from critics. Through the years, the film has survived and has put together an impressive legacy thanks to its large fan base, so it shouldn’t be too surprising to see that someone like Tarantino would be inspired by it. The interesting distinction here, however, is the fact that The Hateful Eight wasn’t a horror movie in the slightest.
Even though the genres were different, The Thing clearly had a profound impact on the making of The Hateful Eight, which also starred Kurt Russell. Instead of just keeping this to himself, Tarantino wound up watching the film with the rest of the cast, including the aforementioned Russell.
Tarantino Watched ‘The Thing’ With His Cast
In his comments made to The Telegraph, Tarantino said, “It’s the only movie that I showed the cast. I even showed it to Kurt Russell. He loved watching it with the cast: ‘That’s mine baby, that’s what I did.’”
Some actors might be turned off by having to watch one of their old movies with their current cast on set, so it is really cool to hear that Kurt Russell proudly watched his former flick with the rest of the folks making The Hateful Eight. The actor has had a legendary career through the decades, and there is no denying the fact that The Thing remains one of his most popular works.
Over time, filming for The Hateful Eight would take place, and there was a lot of anticipation for the project. Quentin Tarantino is not the type of director to just take on any project, and he is always right on the money about the films he brings to life. With his previous successes in the books and with an incredibly talented cast for The Hateful Eight, the fans were ready for something that was quintessentially Tarantino.
‘The Hateful Eight’ Becomes A Success
Released back in 2015, The Hateful Eight, which boasted Tarantino’s direction and a loaded cast, quickly caught the attention of movie fans. The film was not afraid to tackle mature and difficult themes, which certainly drummed up some controversy. Even though the script had leaked previously, fans still showed up in droves to see what Tarantino had up his sleeve this time.
At the box office, the film performed well, though it was not on par with some of the director’s other major hits. Overall, the project had some solid reviews, despite some of the backlash that it received. While it may not have been Tarantino’s biggest hit or most successful project, it was yet another solid entry into his filmography. The man simply knows how to make a good movie.
It is interesting to learn that this film was actually going to be a sequel to Django Unchained and that it was even being considered to be put in novel form before being turned in a movie. The decision to make it into a movie paid off, as the film was ultimately nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography.
The Thing was a huge inspiration for the successful Hateful Eight, and it’s nice to see that Tarantino shared the inspiration with the cast.