“The Hateful Eight” is a magnificent return to form for Quentin Tarantino.

This western is incredibly suspenseful and darkly humored. Carried along by the witty banter and engaging performances of the Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russel, Walter Goggins, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bruce Dern and Demian Bichir, the 3-hour runtime is never boring or filled with useless plot developments.

After a blizzard forces John “The Hangman” Ruth (Russel) and his fugitive Daisy Domergue (Leigh) to seek shelter with five other strangers, personalities and individual interests collide as the group wait for the storm to blow over.

Similar to Agitha Christie’s “And then There Were None,” it is the eight different people housed together that are the main source of conflict and plot development. Each one has their own reasons for being there, and the characters are all unique and intriguing.

But ultimately, as the title suggests, all of them are despicable people, which makes this film a throwback to earlier Tarantino films where the morality of the characters is less black-and-white, “good vs. evil,” like in his previous movies “Inglorious Basterds” and “Django Unchained.”

The ambiguous morals of the Eight make it more exciting to find out what will happen next. Every single character contributes to the overall plot and is given equal chances to shine and expand on their personalities.

The talent behind the camera is just as good as the skill in front of the lens. With cinematography by Robert Richardson (who has worked the same job for several other Tarantino films), special effects by Greg Nicotero (of “The Walking Dead” and “Day of the Dead” fame), and Tarantino’s directing, “The Hateful Eight” is sharp, gory and an overall pleasure to watch.