The Australian outback – apart from kangaroos, poisonous insects and lots of desert, there’s nothing there, is there? In the outback thriller “The Royal Hotel”, work-and-travel students find themselves in this area. Stream now on WOW.
Films set in remote hinterlands usually do not paint a positive picture of the country and its people. If you stray too far from the big cities in America, for example, and then take a wrong turn, you will find yourself dealing with incest killers and atomic mutants in genre films. In the sparsely populated areas in European films, there is often a yawning boredom that the young protagonists try to escape with all their might.
“The Royal Hotel” at WOW*
If you have ever wondered what else there is in the Australian outback besides “Mad Max” madness, you should check out “The Royal HotelYou can now stream the unpleasant thriller trip on WOW (formerly Sky Ticket). Do you really want to enjoy a holiday in Australia or go on a work-and-travel trip after this shock? We have some doubts.
And that’s what “The Royal Hotel” is about
Friends Liv (Jessica Henwick) and Hanna (Julia Garner) are having the time of their lives. School is over, the world is their oyster – and they are really enjoying this phase. But at some point, normal life knocks on the door again – in this case in the form of an empty wallet. To counteract the financial slump, the duo decide to combine work and travel. And so they decide to work as bar staff in an outback pub for a few weeks.
The “Royal Hotel” will be their home for the time being. The run-down desert bar, like its guests, has seen better days. The welcome from the owner of the establishment is not particularly friendly, as Billy (“Matrix” star Hugo Weaving) is a neglected and very direct drunk. And the work behind the bar is not what the friends imagined their job to be like. The miners in the nearby mine are very direct in their manner. As the alcohol consumption increases, the volume and level of aggression increase enormously – and the jokes become more unsavory. And that’s just the first evening…
When the pub becomes a nightmare
“The Royal Hotel” draws its tension from a very realistic scenario. Two prospective students meet a group of rough-hewn and extremely direct men. Sexist jokes and teasing – what is fun and what goes too far? This shift in perception is one of the most exciting themes addressed in “The Royal Hotel.” This dynamic creates some of the most uncomfortable situations in this thriller.
Director Kitty Green lets us see the wild goings-on through the eyes of the two women – and they too perceive the situation differently. While Hanna would prefer to go home immediately, Liv enjoys her new job and takes a more relaxed approach to things. Perhaps too relaxed, because little by little the situation escalates into something unpleasant.
And this is one of the biggest weaknesses of “The Royal Hotel”. While at the beginning there is still plenty of room for debate about the interpretation of certain scenes, the threat scenario increases as the game progresses. In the end, there is no longer any doubt about the badness of all the bar guests and the situation gets completely out of control…
The film is based on the documentary “Hotel Coolgardie“, from which the thriller with horror elements takes individual scenes almost one-to-one. But in contrast to “Hotel Royal”, the focus here is actually on the clash between two realities of life, without demonizing either party. The author of this article therefore clearly recommends watching it. You can currently find the documentary in your Amazon Prime Video subscription:
“Hotel Coolgardie” on Amazon Prime Video*
An exciting thriller project that is currently being worked on is “Worst Roommate Ever”. It is about a squatter who does not want to vacate his room and terrorizes the apartment owner in the worst possible way. The choice of director is also interesting, because none other than comedy specialist Paul Feig (“Bridesmaids”) is set to direct the film. You can read more about it in this article:
After the Netflix hit: “Ghostbusters” director brings psychological thriller about neighborhood terror to the cinema!
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