Seven strangers in a hotel named Royal Tahoe: a cleric, soul singer, street vendor, sisters, director and mysterious Billy Lee - on a fateful night seems the worst in their lives. Will turn the hotel into a battlefield between these strangers and each of them will have another shot before everything changes.
Though imperfect, is saved by its magnificent first two-thirds, its A-list cast that stuns and shares the spotlight in rounds, its infectious selection of songs sung to divine perfection.
Bad Times at the El Royale starts with a lot of promise and a full head of steam; even half-way through I was engaged. But the movie eventually careens off the track.
Careful framing, mysterious characters, slow builds, violent surprises, and a dynamite parade of very nearly on-the-nose songs from the mid- to late-1960s
This Irwin-Allen-sized B-movie mostly works thanks to Goddard's knack for nesting-doll-style narrative compartmentalization and his talent for bringing out the best in his uniformly strong ensemble cast...
