The titular hotel “El Royale” is located both in Nevada and California due to a state line that runs through it. But that is not the most interesting feature of the hotel which seems to have been designed for some peculiar activities unbeknownst to the guests. The hotel is often referred to as some sort of “pervert” hotel in the movie, but it is not clear who the perverts are. The pervert(s) could be the engineers, owners and/or management. One of the most interesting details of the storyline was blatantly left out for the viewers to do some guesswork. It is also not clear why the hotel was designed the way it was. It is clear that the guests do not receive the courtesy of privacy but what is the purpose of all of this? The audience watches the story unfold on the surface, however the how and why are left open-ended.
The storyline is bizarre and spectacular at the same time. The lack of depth is what gives the movie its bizarre perception, because it cannot explain the actions of the characters, why there are only four people checked into a hotel that crosses state lines or why the hotel has only one employee. On the other hand, this lack of depth increases the mystery and intrigue, leaving the audience very focused.
Ulterior motives or not, the “El Royale” holds secrets that can only perish in a fire. @ElRoyalMovie
However, this kind of mystery is nothing new for fans of noir films. The mysterious strangers all gathered in one place, for the purposes of creating high-end mischief recalls a Tarantino movie-more specifically “The Hateful Eight.”
But “Bad Times at the El Royale” focuses so much on the gory details of the plot that it lacks Tarantino’s character depth. The violence seems to be there just to be there without adding or supporting the story in any way. In attempts to maximize the gory details, the writers missed out on a chance to develop the characters while still maintaining suspense. The characters are very intriguing, and due to the amazing acting, the audience can tell their backstories are just as complex if not even more. But the characters’ backstories are left unexplored with only on the surface information about who they are: a fake priest, a struggling artist, an undercover FBI agent, a war veteran, a former cult member, a cult leader and a cult member. Surprisingly enough, this did not turn into a movie about a cult.
“Bad Times at the El Royale” is living proof that, yes, there is such a thing as too much suspense. There simply isn’t enough details to support where the storyline is headed.
@ElRoyalMovie
One thing this movie managed to make use of successfully was the music and soundtrack. Most of the music was from the 1960s since that is when the movie is set however Cynthia Erivo’s (main character and Tony award-winning actress) musical talents were not put to waste as she performed acapella in various scenes. The use of music was not just to set the mood or transition onto the next scene. The music was almost always part of the scenes and one scene, in particular, had Erivo singing to block sounds and distract from some suspicious background noise.
