Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller,
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Chris Hemsworth, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, Nick Offerman, Xavier Dolan, Shea Whigham, Jim O'Heir
Review: Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe's El Royale, rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have to face their demons and hope that redemption is one of the amenities available during their stay.
From the trailer Bad Times at the El Royale looks like a big budgeted, Tarantino-esqe, crime thriller, but as we all know trailers can be deceiving. Writer-director Drew Goddard has created a clever, character-driven thriller that starts out with a fairly routine premise, but takes the road less traveled and shocks, surprises, and spins a story holds your attention for the entire run-time, as over-long as it might be.
With an amazing cast featuring the talents of Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny and Lewis Pullman you know you're going to get a good show and you do. The real star of Bad Times at the El Royale is Tony Award actress Cynthia Erivo. As Darlene Sweet, Erivo has the best character and gives the best performance in the movie. She demands your attention whenever she's on the screen. A real revelation. She's gonna be a big movie star.
Now, I want you to see this quirky thriller without having it spoiled for you so I'll clam-up. Once the guests arrive and the story begins to unfold you are in for a masterful 2h 21mins of compelling storytelling. Give this one a look and enjoy your stay at the El Royale, where the bad time roll!