Welcome one and all to part 7 of my weekly blog feature, The 52 In 52. If you haven't read any of the previous posts the premise is simple, each Thursday I talk about a film in my collection of DVDs and Blu Rays that I have never seen. Last weeks post was about the brilliant Searching. If you have any feedback or comments leave one in the section below or by following me on Twitter and Instagram. If you enjoy reading these and all of my other posts retweet the links and tell your friends.
This week I will be writing about the fantastic Bad Times At The El Royale and what a film it is. Released in 2018 Bad Times At The El Royale follows the story of a group of strangers all with their own secrets to hide as they arrive at the El Royale hotel, a unique hotel that is split down the middle by the California/Nevada state line. In one fateful night all of their secrets and issues come to a head ending with a bizarre and engaging final act.
Written and directed by Drew Goddard (The Cabin In The Woods, Cloverfield) this is by far his best work to date. Bad Times really feels like it was made in the 60's by Alfred Hitchcock and this is in part to the fact that it was filmed on actual film rather than digitally. This gives it a grainy and aged look that fits with the film perfectly. All of the film, except a few flashbacks, take place in the hotel it gives it a real claustrophobic feel, making you feel like anything could happen to a character simply by them turning a corner or going to another room.
Bad Times At The El Royale is really an ensemble piece. Each character is given a great back story and the actors portraying them feel like they were born to play these roles. Jeff Bridges has a great turn as the mysterious Father Daniel Flynn, and plays the role in a way where you sympathise with a career criminal. Dakota Johnson and Cailiee Spaeny are great as Emily and Rose Summerspring, whom are on the run from the enigmatic, cult leader Billy Lee (Chris Hemsworth) I did feel that these three weren't given enough screen time and I would have liked to seen more of their characters. John Hamm is entertaining as Dwight Broadbeck, a vacuum salesman with a secret and Lewis Pullman has a darkly comedic turn as Miles Miller, the hotel concierge. It is Cynthia Erivo who lit up the screen in my opinion as soul singer Darlene Sweet. She is fantastic from the second she appears on screen and her soulful voice really drives a lot of the film and she really commands the scenes she is in.
The stories that intertwine throughout are equally engaging. I really feel that each of the stories involved could have easily had their own films. The way in which all of the characters engage with each other is simply due to them staying in the hotel but, as the story unfolds they develop separate relationships with each other in one way or another. I really enjoyed the scenes with Erivo and Bridges and their unlikely bond with each other. Hemsworth is creepy and menacing in such a way where a mere look on his face gave me the creeps but, it is Lewis Pullman that really pulls the story together. I have to admit I hadn't seen him in anything before but, he plays his role in such a way that you root for him for most of the second and third act after being misdirected in the first.
Overall, if you can't tell I loved Bad Times At The El Royale from start to finish. It was classic Hitchcockian suspense mixed with Goddards sense of humour and fantastic screen writing. I cannot recommend that you go out and buy this film enough. Thanks for reading and look out for my next post next Thursday.
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