Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

A salesman, singer, priest, and young woman all check into the El Royale -- a past-its-prime hotel that straddles the border between California and Nevada. Most of the guests are not who they seem to be and even the hotel's single employee has secrets. I was having a great time with this film. The shifting timelines and perspectives worked wonderfully to keep me guessing, but not to the point of frustration.

But the big climax was a letdown. It felt like something I'd seen hundreds of times before: one scary dude holds sway over a handful of people who do his bidding without question. Yawn.

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