Writer/director Drew Goddard attempts to cram all the terror and confusion of the late '60s and early '70s—from Watergate to Vietnam to the Manson murders—into a kitschy roadside motel that straddles the California-Nevada border. Surrounded by tall ponderosa pines, it seems like the perfect setting for a claustrophobic thriller, similar to the titular cabin from Goddard’s feature debut, 2012’s excellent Cabin in the Woods. Unfortunately, by the end, I was just glad Bad Times at the El Royale was over. by Ciara Dolan