The Royal Hotel - ‘Beyond Fest’
Leaving the silent nightmare of corporate America, Kitty Green flees to her native country of Australia to flex her thriller instincts as she once again reminds us that men are trash in her slow-burn, The Royal Hotel.
In a remote mining town sits the Royal Hotel, a hotel bar swarming with intoxicated Aussie men. Miles away on the Australian coast are “Canadian” best friends Liv and Hanna whose backpacking escapade has left them broke and in need of cash. Their predicament leads to a train, bus, and car detour to a temporary live-and-work assignment at the Royal Hotel. They are warned of “a little male attention” which turns out to be a lot.
Green lays out the unsettling, dusty pub for the audience to absorb allowing them to imagine the worst scenarios that could play out for the two women. She relies on the audience’s anticipation to spot danger in every moment as toxicity exists everywhere. Aerial shots of the hotel show its dried land with the inside dirty with dried snakes decorating the bar top, leaving a sense of unsettling. The craftsmanship paints the bleak picture that this is not a spot for tourists. The pub is run by Billy and Carol, who seem like allies to the girls in this unknown territory, but the two have their own violent relationship. Billy borders as a functioning alcoholic while Carol has settled for this reality until she is pushed too far.
At the core of this haunting tale is the relationship between Liv and Hanna. Green lays out their dynamic from the beginning with Hanna being a bit more responsible between the two. In this new setting, Liv thrives seeing this as another stop on their adventure while Hanna remains skeptical. Hanna does not hide her dismay at being at the Royal Hotel and would rather return to the beach. With new men added to the dynamic, the relationship begins to shift throughout the noisy bar nights. Hanna keeps to herself while Liv grows trusting of the men around them. It is never revealed who is trusting and who has ulterior motives as each behavior or mannerism between the women and men senses trouble to come.
From the intentional shaking camera, the women are put on defense against the potential threat of the aggressive men. There is an overhanging dread that there is no help to come for these girls forcing them to protect themselves. Julia Garner perfectly depicts female discomfort through the microaggressions of her encounter with these men. She is always on the defense that anything could happen, but because it is not explicit violence the others around her can’t comprehend her feelings. Green doesn’t make the men of her story a monolith. There is a bit of a spectrum from sympathetic Matty who takes the girls to the swimming hole to the disturbing Dolly who walks around their sleeping quarters at night. While some of the men might have good intentions in their interactions it all results in the same disappointing ending.
By the end of this horror story, Green’s muscular, controlled tension builds up to a sigh of relief in its explosive ending of female rage.