Bad Times at the El Royale

Bad Times at the El Royale is a 2018 American neo-noir thriller film written, produced and directed by Drew Goddard. The film stars Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, Nick Offerman and Chris Hemsworth. Set in 1970, the plot follows seven strangers who each are hiding dark secrets that come to a head one night in a shady hotel on the California-Nevada border.

Bad Times at the El Royale premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 27, 2018, and was released in the United States on October 12, 2018. The film has grossed $21 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its acting and Goddard's screenplay and direction, although the 141-minute runtime and pacing drew some criticism.

Plot
In 1970, Catholic priest Daniel Flynn, singer Darlene Sweet, salesman Laramie Seymour Sullivan, and sarcastic Emily Summerspring arrive at the El Royale, where they meet the hotel's only employee, Miles Miller.

Upon checking into the honeymoon suite, Sullivan (in reality an FBI agent named Dwight Broadbeck, sent to investigate the hotel and remove evidence of their operations) discovers a passageway leading into a corridor looking onto one-way mirrors in each of the hotel's rooms, as well as a 16mm camera setup. Broadbeck witnesses an apparent kidnapping in progress in Emily's room; he is instructed to not to interfere with the kidnapping, and to sabotage the guests' vehicles to prevent any of them from escaping. Meanwhile, Flynn invites Sweet to join him for dinner. She sees him drugging her drink and knocks him unconscious with a bottle, running out of the hotel to 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. Sweet attempts to escape in her car after witnessing the murder, but Flynn arrives. He reveals that he is really a criminal named Donald "Doc" 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 - but owing to his failing memory he can't recall which room it was in. He had attempted to drug Sweet to gain access to her room, believing the cash to be buried there. The two agree to split the cash amongst 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, a charismatic and sadistic 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, Billy Lee and his cultists arrive and hold them hostage along with Emily and Miles.

While interrogating and 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 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 afterwards. Before Miles passes, 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.

Not long after, Sweet performs at a show in Reno for the crowd, as O'Kelly proudly looks on.

Cast

 * Jeff Bridges as Donald "Doc" O'Kelly / Daniel Flynn, a robber masquerading as a Catholic priest
 * Cynthia Erivo as Darlene Sweet, a struggling soul singer
 * Dakota Johnson as Emily Summerspring, a woman trying to save her sister from Billy's cult
 * Hannah Zirke as young Emily
 * Jon Hamm as Dwight Broadbeck / Seymour 'Laramie' Sullivan, an undercover FBI agent
 * Cailee Spaeny as Rose Summerspring, Emily's sister and Billy Lee's accomplice
 * Charlotte Mosby as young Rose
 * Lewis Pullman as Miles Miller, the sole concierge and employee left at the El Royale
 * Austin Abell as young Miles
 * Chris Hemsworth as Billy Lee, a charismatic cult leader and Rose’s mentor
 * Nick Offerman as Felix O'Kelly, a deceased criminal and Doc’s brother
 * Xavier Dolan as Buddy Sunday, a music producer who fires Darlene due to budget cuts
 * Shea Whigham as Dr. Woodbury Laurence, a doctor who diagnoses Doc with his sickness
 * Mark O'Brien as Larsen Rogers, Doc and Felix's accomplice
 * Charles Halford as Sammy Wilds, Doc's prison roommate
 * Jim O'Heir as Milton Wyrick, the presenter of Sweet's show in Reno
 * Manny Jacinto as Waring "Wade" Espiritu, Billy Lee's right-hand-man
 * Alvina August as Vesta Shears, a singer who replaces Sweet
 * Gerry Nairn as Paul Kraemer, a reporter

Production
On March 8, 2017, it was announced that 20th Century Fox had bought the spec script Bad Times at the El Royale, written by Drew Goddard, who would also direct and produce the film. On August 23, 2017, Chris Hemsworth and Jeff Bridges had been cast in the 1960s-set film to play two among the several characters who collide at the El Royale near Nevada's Lake Tahoe. That same day, it was also reported that Tom Holland had passed on a role, and that Beyoncé was being courted for the role of an African-American vocalist. It was also revealed that other main roles in the ensemble would include a vacuum cleaner salesman, two female criminals, a male cult leader, and a desk clerk. Later in August 2017, newcomer Cailee Spaeny was added to the cast to play an impressionable Southern girl brought to the hotel while Cynthia Erivo was cast in the film for the role of the African-American singer who finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. In January 2018, Dakota Johnson and Russell Crowe joined the cast. In February 2018, Jon Hamm (replacing Crowe), Nick Offerman and Mark O'Brien joined the cast. In May 2018, Lewis Pullman was confirmed for a role in the film.

Principal photography on the film began on January 29, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and later in February, it was being shot in Burnaby.

Release
The first trailer was released on June 7, 2018. The film had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 27, 2018 and also screened at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. It was released in the United States on October 12, 2018.

Box office
, Bad Times at the El Royale has grossed $7.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $4 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $11.3 million, against a production budget of $32 million.

In the United States and Canada, Bad Times at the El Royale was released alongside First Man and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, and was projected to gross $8–12 million from 2,808 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $17 million. The film made $2.8 million on its first day and went on to debut to just $7.2 million, finishing seventh at the box office. Deadline Hollywood speculates the film was hurt by its 141 minute runtime, as well as its niche genre and lack of awards buzz.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 72% based on 184 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Smart, stylish, and packed with solid performances, Bad Times at the El Royale delivers pure popcorn fun with the salty tang of social subtext." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale.