The title The Royal Hotel is not the meaning its audience thinks. It is an experience where it finds its uncomfortable elements. The premise is promising, the acting is stellar, but the writing falls short in its lack of continuity. The result is a messy blur of a story. Written and directed by Kitten Green, The Royal Hotelis about a vacation going awry. The film is not lacking in narrative, but it continues on a path of redundancy. It does not stir any feelings whatsoever after experiencing it and leaves the viewer flat.

The film takes place in Australia and revolves around the relationship of two best friends, Hanna (played by Julia Garner) and Liv (played by Jessica Henwick). They are backpacking around the country and enjoying their adventure. All of this changes when they find themselves in a financial debacle. This puts them in a situation where they must find temporary jobs in order to have enough money to continue on their travels. They are assigned to work at a pub behind “The Royal Hotel.” As soon as they show up, they realize the place is questionable with a negative energy. The pub is in gross disrepair with broken showers and rude patrons indulge in drunkenness daily. The two managers are Billy (played by Hugo Weaving) and Carol (played by Ursula Yovich). They deliver poor training to Hannah and Liv, but the two young women learn to deal with it initially, until things begin to change.

With their touring being on hold for Hanna and Liv, working at the pub becomes their new existence for the time being. However, the continued drunkenness of the bar’s customers is hard for them to bear. The rudest of these folks are Matty (played by Toby Wallace), Teeth (played by James Frecheville) and Dolly (played by Daniel Henshall). Dolly is the worst of them all. Their pervasive flirting and disgusting behavior become intolerable for Liv and Hanna. Liv is a risk-taker and can handle it all much better than Hanna who is more sensitive. The uncomfortable setting of the hotel and the pub has turned their dream vacation into a nightmare.

The film may be set up with good guys and bad guys, but it quickly becomes repetitive. It relies heavily on the bad behaviors of Dolly, Matty, and Teeth to make the storyline more unnerving. This dark tale has a hard time finding its purpose and quickly becomes a bore. The disasters at the bar and the crazy customers never stop. The dynamic of characters in a deserted setting where dangerous and innocent minds clash creates an unpredictable experience that really does not work.

Problems keep rising and the pub finds itself in financialturmoil. It is in an odd place, the people are always negative, and Hanna and Liv are treated poorly—all of this indicates that getting out of “The Royal Hotel” will be a treacherous path. It is not long before Hanna and Live are pressured to make choices with irreparable consequences. The longer they stay, the more vulnerable they are. They find themselves in a boxing match with the increasingly bad behavior of the drunken bar patrons.Their rage is fueled by putting up with constant abuse. But where does it find its resolution? There is too little backstory on the girls to feel for them or care about their situation. The film’s foundations are set up poorly and it jumps right to the suspensein a weak attempt to offer substance. A horrid vacation experience that does not deliver any element of the thriller it strives to be. Two out of four stars for The Royal Hotel.