Bad Times at the El Royale 2018

At the film’s conclusion, only Darlene and Father Flynn survive the chaos that erupts at the El Royale. The fire and violence, instigated by Billy Lees and his cult followers, leave most of the characters dead after a night of torture and confrontations. Billy, a manipulative and violent cult leader, arrives at the hotel seeking the hidden money and begins terrorizing everyone, playing sadistic games to force information from his victims. The resistance from characters like Emily, Darlene, Miles, and others builds until Miles, a Vietnam war veteran, manages to kill Billy in a showdown. However, Miles is fatally wounded in the process, and Rose, in a fit of rage, stabs Miles before being shot by Father Flynn.

As Miles dies, he pleads for forgiveness for his past actions, which Flynn grants with a blessing, despite not being an actual priest. The pair then retrieves the stolen money, destroys the mysterious tape — which contains potentially damaging information about a famous visitor to the hotel — and leaves the burning building behind. The film’s final shot shows Darlene performing on stage the next day, watched over by the reborn Flynn. This ending signifies that Darlene, embodying virtue and resilience, escapes the night’s darkness, while Flynn’s presence hints at redemption. The flames that consume Billy symbolize evil, and Darlene and Flynn’s victory over temptation and violence offers a moral conclusion: forgiveness and the pursuit of one’s dreams remain paramount amidst chaos.

The tape, whose contents are never fully revealed, symbolizes the secrets and sins hidden behind the hotel’s façade, representing both the darkness of past sins and the desire for anonymity. Its secrecy underscores the film’s themes of morality, guilt, and redemption, showing that some truths are best left forgotten or burned away. Overall, the ending emphasizes that true salvation comes through resilience, virtue, and the willingness to forgive oneself and others, even in the face of monstrous evil.

In 1969 the El Royale stands at the thin line between California and Nevada, a once‑glittering resort now dimmed by time and secrets. Its neon signage flickers over a desert highway, inviting travelers who think they are merely seeking a night’s rest, while the hotel’s empty ballrooms and shadowed corridors whisper of a past that refuses to fade. The atmosphere is a blend of retro glamour and unnerving stillness, a place where every polished surface could hide a story waiting to surface.

Seven strangers arrive under the cover of darkness, each carrying a private burden that they hope the anonymity of the hotel will conceal. Daniel Flynn, a charismatic figure whose smile hints at something more than a simple pilgrimage, checks in with a purpose only he knows. Darlene Sweet, a sultry singer with a voice that carries both melancholy and resolve, steps from the lobby into a room that seems to listen. Laramie Seymour Sullivan, a polished salesman whose practiced charm masks an agenda far beyond simple hospitality, takes a seat at the bar and surveys the scene with a keen eye. Emily Summerspring, a restless young woman clutching a worn suitcase, glances around as if searching for an exit that may not exist. Beside her, her younger sister Rose clings to the hope that the night will bring answers, while Miles Miller, the hotel’s lone employee and a man whose stoic demeanor suggests a history of his own, moves through the corridors like a silent sentinel.

The hotel itself becomes a character, its dim lighting and echoing hallways fostering a tense cocktail of curiosity and unease. Conversations drift from polite small talk to insinuations that each guest is playing a careful game, aware that the eyes of the past may still be watching. As night deepens, the interplay of secrets—half‑told confessions, fleeting glances, and the unspoken promise of revelation—creates a palpable undercurrent that ripples through every interaction.

All of this unfolds within a single night, a ticking clock that presses the strangers into unexpected proximity. The El Royale’s faded grandeur and its uncanny ability to magnify hidden truths set the stage for a night where each character must grapple with the weight of what they hide and what the hotel might yet expose. The mood remains a stylish blend of noir intrigue and restless energy, inviting the audience to wonder how these disparate lives will intersect before the sunrise.