The Royal Hotel (2023)

The Royal Hotel is the kind of thriller that doesn’t need big twists to get under your skin—it turns a sun-bleached outback pub into a pressure cooker, and you can feel the walls closing in with every casual joke that lands a little too sharp. Kitty Green directs with a steady, unnerving control, letting the atmosphere do the heavy lifting as everyday misogyny curdles into something genuinely frightening. Julia Garner and Jessica Henwick make the friendship at the center feel lived-in and real, which only deepens the suspense as the situation grows more volatile, while Hugo Weaving brings a slippery authority that keeps you guessing. It’s not for viewers looking for escapism or a breezy night in, but if you want a smart, tightly wound drama-thriller that lingers like a bad memory, this one’s worth the watch.

The Royal Hotel wants to be a grounded, slow-burn thriller about how everyday misogyny and small-town power dynamics can turn a “working holiday” into a cage, and for a long stretch it absolutely succeeds at making you squirm. Kitty Green builds dread through realism rather than big set pieces, with Julia Garner and Jessica Henwick selling the mounting unease in a way that feels uncomfortably plausible. The catch is that the film’s tension peaks higher than its payoff, and the ending can feel like it slips from sharp observation into a resolution that doesn’t fully land the story’s earlier precision. If you need a clean, cathartic wrap-up or a more conventionally plotted thriller, this may leave you frustrated—even if the performances and atmosphere are strong enough to keep you watching.