'Bad Times at the El Royal' is one of the better Quntion Tarantino imitators. It's got a solid cast full of recognizable names, plays with structure, has long dialogue sequences, stylized violence, some cool sets, great music and period flair. There's 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Pulp Fiction' here, but the Tarantino film it felt most reminiscent of did not come out until the following year, 'Once Upon A Time in Hollywood'.
Both films are set (in El Royals case after a brief teaser segment in the late 50's) in 1969, and both films feature a charismatic but violent cult leader with devoted, mostly female followers. In this case the cult leader is played by Chris Hemsworth, but he dosen't show up until late in the film.
The bulk of our main cast show up in the first 10 minutes and include an aspiring singer (Cynthia Erivo), an elderly priest (Jeff Bridges), a vacuum cleaner salesman (Jon Hamm) and a rather terse young woman (Dakota Johnson). They all arive for various reasons to stay at the El Royal, a once thriving now largely empty hotel, just outside Lake Tahoe and sitting literally on the California/Nevada state line. None of them are exactly what they seem, even the tired young man who runs the place (Lewis Pullam) has secrets.
There are overlapping plots and unethical behaviors amongst our core group, and philosophical rumintations to be had on matters of faith, conscience, and loyalty, among other things. The movie proves a rather stealth character piece, and the violence was less then I expected, though this is still one of those films where you may be surprised by who lives and who dies. Wrtten and directed by Drew Goddard, who is best known for his writting on movies like 'World War Z' and 'The Martian' and TV series like 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Lost'. ***
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