A line runs right through the middle of Lake Tahoe’s Cal Neva Resort & Casino, splitting the swimming pool between two states: Step into the shallow end on the California side, and the water gets progressively deeper as you cross over into Nevada.
A tangled nest of mysteries and rumors in its own right, the Cal Neva was clearly the inspiration for the retro-kitsch hotel where “Bad Times at the El Royale” goes down, and though none of the film’s five (give or take) guests ever finds time to visit the pool — they’re too busy slapping, shooting, and spying on one another for that — it’s pretty fair to say they’re all in over their heads.That’s also true for writer-director Drew Goddard, the cult-beloved “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” scribe and quasi-occult “Lost” co-creator whose ambitions outstrip his abilities this time around.
Goddard’s second feature arrives shrouded in secrecy,
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