Bad Times at the El Royale
Lake Tahoe, 1969. Seven strangers, each one with a secret to bury, meet at El Royale, a decadent motel with a dark past. In the course of a fateful night, everyone will have one last shot at redemption.
The film disappointed at the box office against its moderate budget of $32.0M, earning $31.9M globally (0% loss).
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) exemplifies precise plot construction, characteristic of Drew Goddard's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 21 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.0, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Laramie Seymour Sullivan
Darlene Sweet
Emily Summerspring
Billy Lee
Laramie Sullivan (Young)
Miles Miller
Rose Summerspring
Main Cast & Characters
Laramie Seymour Sullivan
Played by Jeff Bridges
A charismatic but troubled priest with a dark secret who arrives at the El Royale seeking redemption.
Darlene Sweet
Played by Cynthia Erivo
A soulful singer struggling with her fading career who becomes the moral center of the group.
Emily Summerspring
Played by Dakota Johnson
A volatile young woman with a kidnapped girl who harbors dangerous connections to a cult leader.
Billy Lee
Played by Chris Hemsworth
A charismatic and manipulative cult leader who exerts control through charm and violence.
Laramie Sullivan (Young)
Played by Jeff Bridges
The vacuum cleaner salesman persona - Sullivan's true identity before becoming a criminal.
Miles Miller
Played by Lewis Pullman
The nervous and secretive hotel concierge who monitors guests through hidden passages.
Rose Summerspring
Played by Cailee Spaeny
Emily's younger sister who has been held captive by the cult and seeks escape.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes 1959: A man buries a body under the floor of Room 1 at the El Royale hotel, establishing a dark secret at the heart of the location.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 17 minutes when Flynn discovers surveillance corridors behind the rooms, revealing the hotel is designed for spying. The guests are being watched, and each has something to hide.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 36 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 26% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to Miles is discovered in the surveillance corridors and killed by Sullivan. The body creates a crisis point that forces the remaining guests to interact and reveal their true selves., moving from reaction to action.
At 71 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat Cult leader Billy Lee arrives at the hotel looking for Emily and Rose. His arrival raises the stakes dramatically and shifts power dynamics, transforming the situation from secretive intrigue to open danger., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 106 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Flynn is shot and mortally wounded trying to protect Darlene. The dying bank robber, who came seeking money, faces literal death while the hope of redemption slips away., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 113 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Rose breaks free from Billy Lee's psychological control, choosing her sister Emily over the cult. This act of clarity and resistance provides the key to overcoming the antagonist., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Bad Times at the El Royale's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Bad Times at the El Royale against these established plot points, we can identify how Drew Goddard utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Bad Times at the El Royale within the thriller genre.
Drew Goddard's Structural Approach
Among the 2 Drew Goddard films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 6.7, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. Bad Times at the El Royale represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Drew Goddard filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional thriller films include Eye for an Eye, Lake Placid and Operation Finale. For more Drew Goddard analyses, see The Cabin in the Woods.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
1959: A man buries a body under the floor of Room 1 at the El Royale hotel, establishing a dark secret at the heart of the location.
Theme
The desk clerk Miles explains the hotel straddles the California-Nevada state line, introducing the theme of moral boundaries and the choice between sides.
Worldbuilding
Ten years later (1969): Four strangers arrive at the dilapidated El Royale - priest Daniel Flynn, soul singer Darlene Sweet, salesman Laramie Seymour Sullivan, and Emily Summerspring. Each checks in with hidden agendas and secrets.
Disruption
Flynn discovers surveillance corridors behind the rooms, revealing the hotel is designed for spying. The guests are being watched, and each has something to hide.
Resistance
Through flashbacks and present action, we learn each character's true identity: Flynn is a dying bank robber seeking hidden money, Sullivan is an FBI agent, Emily kidnapped her sister from a cult, and Miles has been secretly filming guests.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Miles is discovered in the surveillance corridors and killed by Sullivan. The body creates a crisis point that forces the remaining guests to interact and reveal their true selves.
Mirror World
Darlene and Flynn begin to form an unlikely bond. She represents redemption and genuine goodness, mirroring what Flynn could have been without his criminal past.
Premise
The guests' backstories unfold in non-linear fashion. Flynn searches for the money, Sullivan works his FBI agenda with the surveillance tapes, Emily protects her brainwashed sister Rose, and alliances shift as secrets emerge.
Midpoint
Cult leader Billy Lee arrives at the hotel looking for Emily and Rose. His arrival raises the stakes dramatically and shifts power dynamics, transforming the situation from secretive intrigue to open danger.
Opposition
Billy Lee takes control of the hotel, forcing the guests to confess their sins and true identities. He orchestrates psychological torture, exploiting each character's vulnerabilities and secrets. The power belongs entirely to the antagonist.
Collapse
Flynn is shot and mortally wounded trying to protect Darlene. The dying bank robber, who came seeking money, faces literal death while the hope of redemption slips away.
Crisis
In the darkness after Flynn's shooting, the survivors process their failure and helplessness. Billy Lee's control seems absolute, and their secrets and lies have led only to death and despair.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Rose breaks free from Billy Lee's psychological control, choosing her sister Emily over the cult. This act of clarity and resistance provides the key to overcoming the antagonist.
Synthesis
The survivors fight back against Billy Lee. Emily and Rose work together to kill him. Darlene chooses mercy over revenge. They dispose of bodies and evidence, each making final moral choices about who they will be.
Transformation
Darlene drives away from the El Royale with Rose, choosing redemption and connection over self-preservation. The hotel burns behind them, destroying the past and its secrets.