Bad Times at the El Royale

Dir: Drew Goddard

2018

****

My anticipation for Bad Times at the El Royale was pretty high given how much I loved Drew Goddard’s 2011 debut The Cabin in the Woods so maybe I had always set myself up for a fail, but as much as I liked it, I can’t help but think there was something missing. In many respects I saw The Cabin in the Woods as the horror movie to end all horror movies – I’m glad it wasn’t – but it took so many of the horror sub-genres and added a brilliant extra element to them that I doubt will ever be beaten. I would say that Bad Times at the El Royale was the 90s film to end all 90s films, while also being the 60s film to end all 60s films – or at least, a contemporary film exploring the late 60s. I say that because I firmly believe that if it had been made in the 90s it would be regarded as a genuine classic by now. There is a Quentin Tarantino feel about the whole thing and it also reminded me of films such as Way of the Gun, U Turn, L.A. Confidential and many other unsung neo-noir 90s thrillers. Dare I say it, but maybe its twenty years too late. I was also reminded of the 00s television show Lost in that the hotel seems to be a an allegory for Limbo, a place between Heaven and Hell where lost souls travel awaiting judgement. The Californian side could be seen as hell while Nevada could be considered Heaven – although most of the bad stuff happens in Nevada. Set in 1969, and separated into chapters, the film follows Catholic priest Daniel Flynn (Jeff Bridges), singer Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo), salesman Laramie Seymour Sullivan (Jon Hamm), and hippie Emily Summerspring (Dakota Johnson) as they arrive at the El Royale, a hotel that sits right on the boarder between California and Nevada. The hotel's only employee is Miles Miller (Lewis Pullman), a rather absent young man left to run the hotel by himself. As the film progresses each guest is seen to be something other than what they first appear to be. Upon checking into the honeymoon suite, Sullivan is shown to be an FBI agent named Dwight Broadbeck sent to remove illegal surveillance equipment of unknown origin in one of the rooms. He discovers that, in addition to his own agency’s listening devices, the room has even more devices than those planted by the FBI, apparently from an unknown source. In addition, he discovers a passageway leading into a corridor looking onto two-way mirrors in each of the hotel's rooms, as well as a 16mm camera setup. When he mistakenly witnesses an apparent kidnapping in progress in Emily's room; FBI director J. Edgar Hoover instructs him not to interfere but to sabotage the guests' vehicles to prevent any of them from escaping. Meanwhile, Flynn invites Sweet to join him for dinner. When she sees him spiking her drink she knocks him unconscious with a bottle of wine and makes her escape. Miles finds Flynn and reveals to him the secret passageway, afterwards explaining that "management" has instructed him to film the guests and send the footage to them. However, he chose to hold back one particularly incriminating film reel of a recently deceased public figure. Against orders, Broadbeck attempts to rescue Emily's hostage, who is revealed to be her younger sister, Rose. Emily opens fire on Broadbeck, killing him and accidentally injuring Miles who was watching from behind the mirror. An overwhelmed Sweet attempts to escape in her car after witnessing the murder, but Flynn arrives. He reveals that he is really a criminal named Donald O'Kelly, who was imprisoned after a botched robbery ten years earlier. Recently freed on parole, O'Kelly has returned to the El Royale in priest garb to retrieve the money which his brother Felix had hidden there before being killed in a double cross after the robbery. But due to failing memory, O'Kelly can't recall which room held the cash. He had attempted to drug Sweet to gain access to her room, believing the cash to be buried there. In the end, the two agree to split the cash among themselves. In the lobby, Emily and Rose, having discovered the corridor, interrogate Miles about the surveillance operation. It is revealed that Emily has forcibly removed her sister from a cult led by Billy Lee (Chris Hemsworth), a sadistic but charismatic figure responsible for a string of murders in Malibu. However, Rose reveals that she has already called Billy about their location. As O'Kelly and Sweet attempt to leave with the money, Lee and his cultists arrive and hold them hostage along with Emily and Miles. While terrorizing the group, Lee learns of the money and the film, which he realizes is worth much more than the money. In a sadistic game of roulette, Lee kills Emily. Using a brief power outage to his advantage, O'Kelly attacks Lee as the hotel lounge catches fire. During the chaos, Miles reveals that he served as a U.S military sniper in Vietnam who killed 123 people. At Sweet's insistence, he picks up a gun and kills Lee and the other cultists. A distraught Rose stabs Miles, but is shot by O'Kelly. Before Miles dies, Sweet tells O'Kelly to absolve him of his guilt over his actions in Vietnam, which he does. O'Kelly and Sweet retrieve the money and Sweet tosses the film into the fire before the pair flee the hotel. The film flashes forward in time, where Sweet performs at a show in Reno for a small crowd. Sweet smiles as she recognizes O'Kelly, who has arrived to proudly watch her sing. It’s an all singing, all dancing thriller with a great ensemble cast and unpredictable story. Each chapter is its own little story but they are edited together rather well, never becoming samey or predictable. The opening scene is beautifully composed and the sets are lavish and full of decadence. Set in 1969, the film manages to incorporate all the big issues of the era, such as the Vietnam war, Political scandal, the Cold War, cultism – Billy Lee clearly influenced by Charles Manson, and of course the music, which acts as the film’s glue. The only problem I had with the film was its lack of suspense. Apart from a couple of shock scenes I thought the story was fairly predictable and even the shock scenes could be said to have been predictable. I liked the flashback scenes featuring the Vietnam war, an armored car robbery, a cult meeting and an indecent proposal (featuring the brilliant Xavier Dolan) and I thought the editing was great but the ending was a little flat and lacking the climax that the first half of the film promised. What I did like about it though was its quirkiness. It did rely a little too heavily on gimmick but there was something rather odd about it that really appealed. It’s not at all the sort of film I expected after The Cabin in the Woods but I liked it and felt drawn into the story throughout. I think a sharper script and a few more twists would have improved it but as it is I liked it, its my kind of odd.