Where did this idea come from?ĭrew Goddard: I've always loved crime fiction and crime cinema. Thrillist hopped on the phone with Goddard to pepper him with some of our lingering thoughts about what happened at the El Royale. Eventually, murderous cult leader Billy Lee - played by Chris Hemsworth and Chris Hemsworth's abs - arrives to collect Johnson's fierce escapee.
There's down-on-her-luck singer Darlene ( Widowsstar Cynthia Erivo), priest-who-isn't-really-a-priest Father Flynn (Bridges), slimey-Southern-salesman-who-turns-out-to-be-an-FBI-investigator Laramie Seymour Sullivan (Jon Hamm), and no-nonsense-hippie-with-a-hostage Emily (Dakota Johnson). Director Drew Goddard - who made the twisty horror delight The Cabin in the Woods - gives his audience all the information he believes is required to grasp the essential points, even if that means there are some lingering questions.īad Times unfolds slowly as guests arrive at the El Royale. When I say that, I mean it quite literally: Early on in the narrative, the viewer discovers that the motel, which straddles the California-Nevada border, is bugged to high heavens and filled with occasionally lucrative secrets.īut this is a mystery that's not exactly a mystery. There's a lot stuffed into the grimy walls of Bad Times at The El Royale, the ensemble crime drama starring Jeff Bridges and Dakota Johnson, among others.
