Note: This is a repost of our Bad Times a the El Royale review from the 2018 Fantastic Fest pic festival. The flick is at present playing in wide release.

Near ten years after filming his characteristic debut Cabin in the Forest (and about half-dozen years since information technology finally hit theaters), Drew Goddard makes his long awaited return to the director's chair with Bad Times at the El Royale . The Lost and Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum hasn't exactly been taking it like shooting fish in a barrel in the years since, keeping decorated every bit a producer on Goggle box hits like Daredevil and The Good Identify , and earning an Oscar nomination for his writing on The Martian , but fans who've waited to see the filmmaker stride back behind the photographic camera volition find it was worth the wait with Bad Times at the El Royale; a clever, dizzying diorama of graphic symbol drama and showmanship that takes flying through Goddard's heartfelt script, impeccable craftsmanship from the below-the-line team, and knockout performances from his ensemble cast.

Set across the backdrop of the Nixon presidency and Vietnam-era America, Bad Times takes us to the titular El Royale, a glitzy spectacle of glinting metals, gleaming lights, and patterned wallpapers split right down the middle by the California/Nevada border, and hiding a whole host of secrets backside its dazzling walls. A i-time hotspot that used to be frequented by glamourous folks like the Rat Pack, the El Royale has fallen into such disuse in the year since that loudmouthed vacuum salesman Laramie Seymour Sullivan (Jon Hamm) can't fifty-fifty become some help to the desk when he tries to cheque in. Then there'due south the matter of the hidden tunnels behind the rooms, where cameras and hotel direction peer into the guests rooms through two-style mirrors, and which Goddard utilizes to stage some fantastic voyeuristic thriller and action beats.

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Image via 20th Century Play a trick on

By the time the balance of the ensemble arrives — led by Jeff Bridges' mentally degenerating Father Flynn, Cynthia Erivo'due south no-nonsense songstress Darlene Sweet, and Dakota Johnson's hell on wheels ex-hippie Emily Summerspring — the El Royale is seeing the most action its had in years. And information technology doesn't have long for the action to heat up to a boiling indicate. When the overwhelmed and endearing director Miles (Lewis Pullman) checks them into their rooms, each member of the ensemble brings a secret with them; some dark, like the kidnapped girl in Emily'south trunk (Cailee Spaeny) and some cute, similar Darlene'south stunning singing voice. Erivo makes a scenic picture acting debut with Bad Times, but she's an established Broadway star and Goddard makes powerful use of her musical talents, letting her a cappella refrains serve every bit the soundtrack for some of the film's all-time beats. Michael Giacchino'south crisp, pulsing score also does great work in the movie's nearly tense moments, occasionally evocative of John Carpenter'due south pulse-pounding thriller beats.

Goddard's jam-packed script sends these characters on a collision course with i wild night of conflicting agendas and unexpected alliances that culminates in the arrival of Chris Hemsworth's snake-hipped hippie cult leader Baton Lee; the wildcard of an already rowdy deck. Their stories intertwine and loop back, revealing a central set of events from a number of dissimilar perspectives, each sketching in a new perspective on the total picture of this wild night at the El Royale. There's no doubtfulness that Goddard's way and construction (not to mention the dulcet needle drops) will earn Bad Times a number of Tarantino comparisons, and they are readily present, merely Goddard'due south flick is fabricated with an earnestness and tender-hardheartedness that makes his pulpy crime drama sing in a completely dissimilar register than his inspirations.

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Epitome via 20th Century Fox

Goddard's amore for his characters and knack for genuinely funny dialogue besides opens up opportunities for tremendous performances across the board. Bridges is reliably excellent, giving the ailing Father Flynn a pathos and good humor that makes you love him pretty much instantly and Johnson once again proves she'south ane of the most weatchable, commanding young actresses out in that location. But the scene-stealers are the film's newcomers, Erivo and Pullman, who walk away with the moving picture. They might just make you cry (or if you're me, definitely make yous cry… multiple times) and volition well-nigh certainly make yous cheer -- both are given some of the picture's best "oh shit" lines and their deliveries are impeccable.

Bad Times is also one stunning spectacle to behold cheers to precision technical elements. Production Designer Martin Whist (who also did Cabin in the Woods) creates a visual wonderland of fading retro-glam with the El Royale. Besides, costume designer Danny Glicker (female parent!) creates a wardrobe of textural, patterned fabrics to pop againsts Whist'south backdrop, and cinematographer Seamus McGarvey (We Demand to Talk About Kevin) captures it all in beautiful, bright (and sometimes striking neon) lights.

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At 140 minutes, Bad Times ultimately feels a bit overstuffed, specially when Billy Lee's eventual inflow underwhelms compared to the film'south earlier sequences. Watching these characters' personalities and intentions unfold is a fascinating, engrossing experience, just their big collision is a bit rote and familiar. We've seen this finale before in plenty of action thrillers -- though admittedly with much less interesting characters on the line -- and the commonplace climax leaves yous wanting but a scrap more than.

Fortunately, the rest of the film is such a damn delight, and the fifty-fifty the execution of the also familiar parts is elevated enough past dialogue and performance, that you will take undoubtedly had one hell of a good time by the credits office on Bad Times at the El Royale. Goddard's spin on the criminal offense thriller is all centre (and Hemsworth hips), making his visually stunning honey-letter to pulpy popular culture a propulsive, cinematic rush.

Rating: A-

Bad Times at the El Royale made its Texas premiere at Fantastic Fest 2018 and is now playing in theaters everywhere.

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Image via 20th Century Play a joke on
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Haleigh Foutch (3317 Manufactures Published)

Haleigh Foutch is a writer, editor, host, actor, and cat enthusiast based in Los Angeles. Former Managing Editor of Collider, she is currently an editor at The Wrap. She also co-created The Witching Hour podcast, appeared in Shudder's docuseries Backside the Monsters, and has written for Rotten Tomatoes, Complex, Nascence.Movies.Expiry., and more than. Yous can usually find her sharing Buffy the Vampire Slayer memes on Instagram, rehearsing the Five Movements from The OA, and request people about their pets.

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