Bad Times at the El Royale

By: Arlene Allen

Bad Times at the El Royale is the best movie I’ve seen all year; a great twisty thriller a la Hitchcock and the Coen Brothers – with a dash of Tarantino. Written and directed by Drew Goddard (The Cabin In the Woods), the film takes viewers on a wild ride during the course of one night at the El Royale, a nondescript motel that straddles the border of Nevada and California.

In an opening flashback, set in the 50’s, we see a desperate man tearing up the floor of a motel room at the El Royale and hiding a satchel of something. The man, of course, doesn’t live longer than it takes to set the room back to rights. We flashforward ten years later to the 60’s in which the rest of the movie is set. On a dark and stormy night four random travelers sign in to the motel, much to the surprise of the burnt out, drug addled clerk. It’s been a long time since anyone has checked in, although once upon a time the El Royale was the place to be as evidenced by the signed celebrities on the walls. Our guests include a rather doddering priest (Jeff Bridges), a “vacuum salesman” (Jon Hamm), a singer headed out to Las Vegas to make it big (Cynthia Erivo) and a hostile young woman ready to bite everyone’s head off (Dakota Johnson). You just know one of them is there for the money and you also know no one is who or what they say they are – just as the El Royale isn’t exactly what it claims to be either.

Showing up later is Emily’s little sister, Ruth (Cailee Spaeny), who is about as demented as they come. On Ruth’s tail is the mysterious Billy Lee, played with sexy, slimy, dangerous appeal by Chris Hemsworth. Tensions runs throughout the movie like a second subtle soundtrack. You have no idea at times who are the good guys and who are the bad.

I can’t give away anything else about the plot because it would be too easy to slip in spoilers and this movie has lots of twists, turns, surprises and shocking moments. It’d be a shame to ruin any of it. You just need to see it for yourself.

The performances are all excellent, but Hemsworth, Bridges and Erivo really stand out.  Bridges as the old priest going senile (or is he?) is fantastic. You don’t know whether to trust and adore him or if he is the one behind all of the madness happening at the motel. Erivo is some singer – the voice of an angel – but what is she really doing at that hotel? The movie is a hundred and forty-one minutes long, but you never feel it; you are on your toes and on the edge of your seat the whole time.  It’s one of those films to revel and delight in, never knowing what’s going to happen next or how strange it’s going to be.

The 60’s soundtrack adds to the film. The setting, the place and the nostalgia are also perfect foils to this weird but awesome film. If you can only pick one movie playing in theaters right now, this is the one to choose. I highly recommend it.