Bad Times at the El Royale – Film Review

Drew Goddard is well known for his work on “Cloverfield”, “Cabin in the Woods”, and “The Martian” as a screenwriter. This time he is the sole screenwriter and director. With this film he really tried to create his own Tarantino-esque film that had a bit of mystery and suspense to piece together the plot of the film. Though that his efforts should be commended with the level of production design, acting and talent — it never reaches any grand goal to be something of note.

This film is a great platform for Cynthia Erivo as the main lead character. She has the most compelling story out of all the seven main characters. Her performance has a lot of nuance and talent when she showcases her singing ability. I liked her chemistry with Jeff Bridges as the Priest. The other performances including Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, and Chris Hemsworth were solid and noteworthy. It was hard to get to know many of the characters beyond what they showcased. There wasn’t enough compelling information to care beyond Cynthia’s character. She was the one you were rooting for to get out alive.

This is not a place for a priest, Father. You shouldn’t be here.

I will commend the level of attention of detail. I liked the perspectives that were shown from different characters and what they saw moments before and after scenes happened. There were some good flashbacks as I previously mentioned but some of them were hard to follow. I would say that this is an oddball film that would be better suited for television or a streaming service. I do appreciate creating new content with a film that has no source material — there just need to be better action and intrigue.

This is a definitely a film to watch at home unfortunately. I would say it is a good watch but nothing that will leave you completely satisfied as an audience member. I did have a good time watching it, it just didn’t have enough meat to be exciting.
7/10