In this way, Goddard (the co-writer and director of 2012's Cabin in the Woods) uses melodramatic plot twists and grisly violence precisely, to make a broad point about the struggle between square-jawed (but sympathetic) optimism and cynical (but relatable) pessimism. And it always is a struggle: Bad Times at the El Royale follows several strangers as they, in a sequence of Pulp Fiction-y vignettes and flashbacks, recall how and why they've fled to the El Royale, a posh but now-abandoned casino-cum-motel that straddles the Nevada/California border.
With the surprisingly inviting neo-noir Bad Times at the El Royale, writer/director Drew Goddard panders to jaded moviegoers' secular disillusionment for the sake of making a larger (though ultimately vague and tidy) point about Americans' struggle for meaning in a post-'60s world. More like 'AB Times at the El Royale,' am I right?: Chris Hemsworth stars in writer/director Drew Goddard's Bad Times at the El Royale.
