Hello this is Hervey Okkles, I'll be commenting on this film today #BTATER18

A leisurely introductory sequence at this motel #BTATER18

A motel renovation movie #BTATER18

We got our first chill and spill #BTATER18

Enter Cynthia Erivo with a pretty impressive poncho of sorts

I guess this is a period piece, I wasn't exactly sure if it was in the past or just kinda retro in tone #BTATER18

So much talk about state lines, and what it feels like to cross state lines: shades of "Convoy" (1978) #BTATER18

Beautiful automat nook

We're now getting a huge El Royale lore dump #BTATER18

This is a very leisurely check-in process #BTATER18

Map drop #BTATER18

Bridges the pastor seemed to pick from a large number of rooms with a single coin flip, curious about his process here #BTATER18

I certainly enjoy the density of logistics so far #BTATER18 bsky.app/profile/this...

This movie is much more about the minutiae of etiquette than I would have guessed #BTATER18

One weird aspect of the film: for the care in midcentury lettering, etc, in the set/prop design, it's odd how the film title cards don't attempt anything of the sort #BTATER18

20 minutes in, we're getting twist and turns, an Earful challenge for analysis imo #BTATER18

Wow, this place is full of circuitry doo-dads, very concerning #BTATER18

He is facing a fairly empty motel and fairly lax security, his investigation couldn't be going better #BTATER18

Hell yes, this is great motel design #BTATER18

Nice to hear Erivo seeing actually-good music for once

(Generally great uncanny vibes in this sequence) #BTATER18

We have made our way through a rather leisurely flashback, now onto Room 5 #BTATER18

Devious architecture in this hotel: the panopticon corridor has perfect soundproofing, but each room has tissue walls from one to the next #BTATER18

Father Flynn is showing cracks #BTATER18

Wow, this jukebox has pretty impressive sequencing/auto-play capabilities #BTATER18

Sinister drink of the ep #BTATER18

The El Royale really invites this sort of federal oversight, given its interstate nature #BTATER18

Washington D.C. is effectively just another room at The El Royale #BTATER18

Rose is safe and okay #BTATER18

Is 'clear' a scientology reference? Really quite a density of dueling religions if so #BTATER18

Agent Hamm violating the prime directive, very concerning #BTATER18

More chills and spills #BTATER18

High hit rate given the small platter space in this jukebox #BTATER18

Miles the bellboy/bartender very disrespectful to the Father, he really needs that drink #BTATER18

Not a great Confession #BTATER18

Father Flynn much less prone to distraction than Agent Hamm #BTATER18

Beautiful showcase of soundproofing #BTATER18

More spills (spillover, you might call it) #BTATER18

We have added another six or seven minutes of coverage to the main event of the El Royale, but not a lot of new information/etc so far #BTATER18

We have appeared to have cleared up the main mysteries of this zany motel (or have we??), let's see how these kooks get out of this pickle #BTATER18

This movie is such a beautiful showcase of California geography #BTATER18

Wow, we get total closure on the coin flip #BTATER18

We return to the lobby, damn these firepits are sick #BTATER18

Another big etiquette faux pas, this time from Rose #BTATER18

Erivo is rapidly progressing towards her current bald state #BTATER18

Nice atmosphere and dynamic to this whole cat-and-mouse surveillance/extermination gambit, fun stuff #BTATER18

FIREPITS ARE GO #BTATER18

Really nice atmosphere in the lead-up to that "Billy Lee" title card drop, we've hit a groove for pretty solid filmmaking (I still have my concerns on earful suitability though) #BTATER18

Great tussle #tussle #BTATER18

That's the only explanation #BTATER18

Never seen a motel with such intense Nevada vibes #BTATER18

Damn, really thought Dakota Johnson had plot armor here

That's classic roulette baby #BTATER18

Could use a lot more detail about the process of monetarizing a sex tape from a notable dead guy #BTATER18

Fire pits keep delivering and delivering #BTATER18

I stand corrected: we have not yet revealed all the mysteries of the El Royale (until now) #MilesThaKiller #BTATER18

Wow, Miles in danger of dying directly on a state line, makes for a very complicated probate #BTATER18

(Was already typing) Incredibly ventilation at The El Royale, amazing nobody's suffering from smoke inhalation yet #BTATER18

Finally! Reno! #BTATER18

There's a lot to like here; specifically from an Earful perspective, a good deal of logistics, strategy, etc

But it's also very, very languid (you might just say *slow*), the puzzly/disguised information nature is hard to analyze sequentially, and frankly SUBTEXT/THEMES a little too easily given

There's *something* interesting about a 1990s QT-style puzzle film being made several decades later, but I'm also just not sure this speaks to 2018 much at all