Because of the segmented nature of the story, each cast member gets big moments to shine as we discover the deeper reasons why they’re at the El Royale. It’s a cliche at this point to call a movie’s setting as much of a character as the people in it but in this case it’s true. Everything feels authentic to the period (the story takes place primarily in 1969) and yet also trapped in time, truly making the El Royale feel like a purgatory sandwiched between heaven and hell. You can practically smell the stale air of its dead casino and mildewy rooms. This movie looks good, and the El Royale feels like a real place. Goddard employs a lot of long takes and moving camera throughout, an especially effective technique during the first big reveal of the dark secrets of the El Royale. Each character only has a portion of the information another one possesses so part of the fun is in seeing the pieces of the puzzle slowly come together. And like a Tarantino film, Bad Times at El Royale is sectioned off into chapters, each one revealing new layers or a different perspective to an event we’d previously seen.

Cabin in the Woods filmmaker Drew Goddard has fashioned a film here that would have been right at home in the ‘90s, when ensemble neo-noir crime flicks marked by their self-aware coolness, period soundtracks, and sardonic attitude followed in the wake of Quentin Tarantino’s success. But there can be a heavy price to pay for doing the right thing. Choices define people, actions trigger consequences, and even a bad person might be capable of doing something good.

None of the guests know what really happens inside the El Royale and none of them are looking for absolution - that’s the goal of a different character - although events just might end up offering it to some of them. One character is merely staying there because it’s cheaper than staying in Reno proper, another is on the run, and two more are looking for something hidden on the hotel’s grounds.

Bad times at casino el royale