Bad Times at the El Royale Posters: Everybody's Hiding Something

[Black Panther]

Eight new posters have been released for Drew Goddard's Bad Times at the El Royale. The 1960s-set noir mystery features an all-star ensemble that includes Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, Jeff Bridges, Nick Offerman, and Russell Crowe. Bad Times' main cast also includes Lewis Pullman (The Strangers: Prey at Night) and Cailee Spaeny (Pacific Rim Uprising), as well as Cynthia Erivo - who, between Bad Times and her role in Steve McQueen's dramatic crime thriller Widows, could end up becoming one of this fall's breakout stars.

Bad Times takes place in 1969 at the eponymous hotel, which literally straddles the line between California and Nevada. The film's character posters call further attention to this, while at the same time alluding to the air of mystery surrounding the movie's players and their reasons for stopping at the El Royale, on the same fateful night.

Those players include Daniel Flynn (Bridges), a priest (or so he says) who's seen better days; Darlene Sweet (Erivo), a singer who's down on her luck; Laramie Sullivan (Hamm), a vacuum salesman; Emily Summerspring (Johnson), a Southern gal traveling with her sister (Spaeny); and Billy Lee (Hemsworth), a hippie-type cult leader. These characters all have their own posters now, along with Pullman as the concierge who's working the night shift when Bad Times takes place. A poster has also been released for Offerman's as-yet undisclosed character in the film. You can check out those one-sheets (courtesy of Fox), below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Select members of the press got to watch 20 minutes of Bad Times this past week, and it sounds like the footage was quite impressive on the whole. According to the breakdowns posted to Twitter, the Bad Times footage included an exceptional 5-minute extended take that required eight months preparation and 27 takes. Goddard also confirmed that he shot Bad Times in 35 mm, just like his previous feature length directorial effort The Cabin in the Woods.

Much like the Bad Times trailer, the press footage is described as being very creepily atmospheric and paranoid. Further, it seems the film itself is as stylish as these posters, which draw from a distinctly noir-ish color palette to bring the El Royale to life. Far from being an exercise in pure style, Bad Times seems to have a lot on its mind, in the sense that its story examines what happens when various aspects of '60s culture (represented here by the characters) collide with one another. For these reasons alone, Goddard's new film is definitely one that cinephiles will want to keep an eye out for.

Bad Times at the El Royale opens in U.S. theaters on Friday, October 5.