WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Drew Goddard's Bad Times at the El Royale, in theaters now.


Bad Times at the El Royale kind of comes out of nowhere with its one-two punch as a scene-setting period piece packed with every bit of mystery writer/director Drew Goddard has in him. It's a thriller that pulls influence from pop culture, historical events and from its late-1960s setting.

The film takes place at a hotel that straddles the border of California and Nevada, and provides an air of uncertainty as the story unravels. There are twists, Easter eggs, and plenty of mental gymnastics required of each of the characters. It's smart, even if it's not so revolutionary, and most of it's influences have a basis in the real world. Most of them.

Conspiracies

John Hamm and Jeff Bridges in Bad Times At The El Royale

There's a pretty famous conspiracy theory (of sorts) at the heart of Bad Times at the El Royale. While some might not call it a "conspiracy theory," the alleged affair between President John F. Kennedy and superstar Marilyn Monroe sits subtly at the center of the thriller

The first hint of that is a wall of photos in the El Royale's lobby, in which one can quickly make out the face of Monroe. The next comes when the discussion of politicians is echoed by the hotel's guests, and later, its hidden agenda. The concierge, Miles Miller, mentions there haven't been many people in the hotel since "the election," and we later learn about the camera hidden behind the wall of each room.

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What did that camera capture? Prominent politicians and people with power. When you combine that with the film's insistence on presenting a film reel as an item of great value, the theory comes together. Who was on the film reel? It seems to have been Monroe and Kennedy.

The film also touches on the surveillance state as a potential conspiracy, with bugs placed by the FBI in a number of rooms, and with the aforementioned camera watching each room through its mirror. There's also a bit of commentary on President Richard Nixon and Watergate, as seen through newspaper clippings and television shots.

Cults

Bad Times at the El Royale

While Bad Times at the El Royale doesn't seem as if it will turn into a battle against a child cult and its charismatic leader, played by Chris Hemsworth, it most certainly does. And the imagery and history behind Hemsworth's Billy Lee and his cult draws clear comparisons to moments in popular culture and tragic, real-life events.

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The most obvious is the string of crimes in August 1969 known as the Tate murders, in which actress Sharon Tate and four others were killed in Los Angeles. The murders were the result of a plot by Charles Manson, a known cult leader and convicted killer, who utilized his so-called Family to carry them out. El Royale draws a parallel to that by having its youngest character, Rose, commit a murder in Hollywood (although seemingly by "accident") at the behest of Billy Lee.

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The film also seems to draw influence from Children of the Corn, the 1984 horror film based on a Stephen King novel, in which a couple is menaced by a cult of murderous children that sacrifices adults in weird ritual gatherings.

The Hotel

While there is no real hotel called the El Royale that straddles the line between Nevada and California and acts as a meeting place for liars, murderers, cultists, special agents and thieves, there is an actual hotel that at least matches the geography.

The Cal Neva Lodge & Casino was hip and happening in the 1960s, after it was purchased by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and, allegedly, Chicago mobster Sam Giancana. Built in 1926, the hotel burned in 1937, only to be rebuilt in just 30 days. Under ownership by Sinatra and his partners, the Cal Neva became a hot spot for celebrities, ranging from Judy Garland and Sammy Davis Jr. to Lucille Ball and Tony Curtis, but also a magnet for trouble: The FBI reportedly suspected an expansion was made possible with money borrowed from Jimmy Hoffa, and there was an investigation into a prostitution ring allegedly run out of the hotel lobby. Monroe stayed at the lodge the weekend before her death in 1962, and attempted suicide there, only to be rushed to the hospital.

Although the hotel may not be a spitting image, it's the clear inspiration for the setting of Bad Times at the El Royale, and each event that takes place in the bottle film.

In addition to its real-life influences, El Royale also draws plenty from pulp film, the works of director Quentin Tarantino and a number of features set in the same era. It's a bit of The Hateful Eight and a bit of The Shining, but it's also clearly a monster of its own from Goddard. Fitting, as he also directed The Cabin in the Woods.


Written and directed by Drew Goddard, Bad Times at the El Royale stars Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, Nick Offerman and Chris Hemsworth. The film is in theaters now.