If a computer algorithm were to generate a movie about the late 1960s and early ’70s, using information solely gleaned from the films of Quentin Tarantino, the result might look something like Bad Times at the El Royale. A femme fatale with a dark secret? A scary-sexy cult leader? Muscle cars? Fringe jackets? Hot dog, this thing’s got it all!
With Bad Times at the El Royale, writer/director Drew Goddard attempts to cram all the terror and confusion of that era—from Watergate to Vietnam to the Manson murders—into a kitschy roadside motel that straddles the California-Nevada border. Surrounded by tall ponderosa pines, it seems like the perfect setting for a claustrophobic thriller, similar to the titular cabin from Goddard’s feature debut, 2012’s excellent Cabin in the Woods. Unfortunately, by the end, I was just glad Bad Times was over.