Bad Times at the El Royale
Lake Tahoe, 1969. Seven strangers, each one with a secret to bury, meet at El Royale, a decadent motel with a dark past. In the course of a fateful night, everyone will have one last shot at redemption.
Critics Sentiment
Laramie finds wiretaps and secret corridor with one-way mirrors
Billy Lee and his cult arrive at El Royale hotel
The film's momentum crashes when Chris Hemsworth's cult leader arrives late in the story, disrupting the carefully built tension.
Bad Times at the El Royale starts promisingly with an intriguing mystery setup and strong ensemble performances, particularly from Jeff Bridges and Cynthia Erivo. The film maintains solid momentum through its character revelations and hotel secrets, but stumbles significantly when Chris Hemsworth's cult leader arrives too late in the narrative. While the final resolution provides some satisfaction, critics felt the film was overly long and didn't fully deliver on its ambitious premise.
Full cast
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Jeff Bridges
Father Daniel Flynn / Dock O'Kelly
Cynthia Erivo
Darlene Sweet
Lewis Pullman
Miles Miller
Dakota Johnson
Emily Summerspring
Cailee Spaeny
Rose Summerspring
Jon Hamm
Laramie Seymour Sullivan / Dwight Broadbeck
Chris Hemsworth
Billy Lee
Nick Offerman
Felix O'Kelly
Xavier Dolan
Buddy Sunday
Shea Whigham
Dr. Woodbury Laurence
Mark O'Brien
Larsen Rogers
Charles Halford
Sammy Wilds
Jim O'Heir
Milton Wyrick
Gerry Nairn
Reporter Paul Kraemer
Alvina August
Vesta Shears
London Morrison
Angela Harris, Vesta's Backup Singer
Bethany Brown
Florence Lemons, Vesta's Backup Singer
Rebecca Toolan
Helen Gandy
Hannah Zirke
Young Emily Summerspring
Billy Wickman
Hutch Summerspring
Crew
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