WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Drew Goddard’s Bad Times at the El Royale, in theaters now.
Drew Goddard's Bad Times at the El Royale is certain to catch some thriller fans off-guard. But, of course, it's a pulse-pounding genre film from the writer of Cloverfield and The Cabin in the Woods, so that's to be expected, right?
One aspect in particular lifts El Royale to a new level of weird, in a way that surely separates it from its brethren: Billy Lee, the charismatic cult leader played by Chris Hemsworth. Representing new ground for the Thor actor, his performance as Billy Lee is certainly a standout in a year with plenty of competition.
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We're introduced to Billy Lee as a bit of a myth, and learn about a murder committed in his name. Then, we see the exploits of one woman, played by Dakota Johnson, who attempts free her younger sister, Rose, from the clutches of Billy Lee and his twisted cult. Before we understand who Billy Lee is, it's implied Rose could be running from any number of problems, including drugs, an abusive father and even the murder witnesses at the beginning of the film. We later learn that it was a bit of all of this -- sort of.
When Rose phones Billy Lee from the El Royale hotel, the clock starts ticking. Shortly afterward, he makes his entrance in a faux-biblical moment that depicts the partially nude Hemsworth strutting through the rain. He makes quick work of basically every remaining character's progress, and subsequently cements himself as the film's main antagonist.
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Audiences may be accustomed to him as as Marvel's god of thunder, but there's something electric about Hemsworth's heel turn. We get a flashback to Billy Lee's recruitment of Rose, in addition to his attempt to welcome Dakota Johnson's Emily into the cult. He has two young women quite literally pull each other's hair out in a competition to see who will "sleep with him in the big house." The moment is creepy and terrifying, but Hemsworth easily sells the twisted sexual exploits of Billy Lee. In this role, he's a textbook villain, basically a caricature. And in a film like this, he's a welcome wrench thrown into what audiences may think the plot is -- something involving the meeting of seven people to find stolen money in a briefcase.
It turns out, however, that Billy Lee doesn't care about the money or the film's mysterious film reel. No, he's simply a proponent of chaos and being his "own God," which contradicts his views on religion expressed in the flashback. He forces the surviving characters to play a game of roulette, and dances seductively against the guests of the El Royale, again directly contradicting his views that religions only offer "black and white" choice. Hemsworth plays a villain incapable of humility and with such a large ego that he comes off as unhinged, the opposite of what his apostles would expect.
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And sure, Billy Lee and his followers at the hotel are eventually taken off the board, but even in the death of his character, Hemsworth's impact takes time to fade. The death of Rose comes at the hand of Miles Miller (Lewis Pullman), when she tries to kill the hotel concierge and war veteran for shooting Billy Lee. Hemsworth isn't even in that scene, unless you count his lifeless body on the floor, and yet he commands the moment. This year has been packed with incredible cinematic performances, but there's something twisted and special about Hemsworth taking on a role that many might consider "not like him" at all.
Now, we're not saying this is the greatest film performance of the year, but it's a fun piece of casting that will surely resonate with fans of the thriller genre for years to come. Bad Times at the El Royale reinforces that Chris Hemsworth possesses range, and he'll have no problem distancing himself from Thor in the years to come.
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.