The Royal Hotel

The Royal Hotel spends the whole time heading toward the realm of unpleasant violence and a thriller-survival/horror flick with revenge involving castration, but it stays grounded and avoids those genres in the end. At the same time, however, it’s not some kind of sophisticated psychological game that could be described as against-the-grain art that cleverly plays with viewers’ expectations. [International Film Festival] (28/09/2023)

An enjoyable little drama/thriller with Australian rednecks. Two girlfriends take a job offer far from their home, somewhere in Australia, to go and help out in a pub to earn some extra cash, only to be confronted by rude locals, and the whole situation soon spirals out of control. Jessica Henwick and Julia Garner both play very well and Hugo Weaving as the pub landlord is also a delight, he is not a good example of a boss. Much of the film takes place in one pub where we watch the two protagonists' demanding shift and some sexual innuendo from the locals (Dolly was probably the best, he appeared the most psychopathic), but for my taste the film is kept too much in check, it is too light, it could have gone to much greater extremes. It doesn't really start to feel like a thriller until the final 15 minutes, where the atmosphere thickens slightly (but again the film could have easily gone into hixploitation with the rednecks). I have worked in a pub so I didn't find it that out of the ordinary, but the film passes quickly, not significantly boring. As a one off it's ok but with a better director wilder things could have happened. 6/10 (26/10/2023)