Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Bad Times at the El Royale
2018
***
Director: Drew Goddard
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, Chris Hemsworth, Nick Offerman, Shea Whigham

In 1969, a Catholic priest, a black singer, a salesman and a crude hippie arrive at the El Royale, a run-down hotel on the border of California and Nevada, which is staffed by one man. All these people have something to hide, but the hotel has a few secrets of its own. The Cabin in the Woods was a terrifically inventive horror genre exercise. Drew Goddard's follow-up is a Tarantinoesque crime mystery. The first half takes its sweet time to introduce the characters and the location, and it really grabbed me with its relaxed pacing, excellent performances, atmospheric visuals, and a few genuine shocks. In the second half, the secrets begin to unravel as we get more flashbacks, but the main storyline sadly leads to an underwhelming and overlong finale. The singer sings one too many songs and the movie simply goes on too long. Goddard saves the final flashback for the final scene, which seems like a baffling choice.