A spine-chilling thriller based on a disturbing true story has quickly become one of Netflix’s most viewed titles.
The Royal Hotel, despite only recently being added to the streaming giant’s collection, has been steadily climbing the charts.
It currently holds the fourth spot for the most watched film on the platform.
This puts it just behind fresh releases such as The Thursday Murder Club and KPop Demon Hunters.
There’s a slight possibility that this title could ascend even further to claim the top spot, as Netflix viewers seemingly can’t resist the 91-minute feature film.
As per the film’s synopsis, best friends Hanna and Liv are backpacking in Australia when they run out of money. In search of an adventure, Liv persuades Hanna to take a temporary live-in job at a pub called The Royal Hotel in a remote Outback mining town.
Pub owner Billy and a bunch of locals introduce the girls to the raucous drinking culture Down Under, but soon Hanna and Liv find themselves ensnared in a disconcerting situation that rapidly spirals out of their control. The plot was inspired by a 2016 documentary titled Hotel Coolgardie, reports the Mirror.
The cast is led by Jessica Henwick, known for her roles in Game of Thrones, Glass Onion and The Matrix Resurrections, alongside Julia Garner who has more recently appeared in Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Weapons and Wolf Man.
The film garnered widespread critical acclaim following its cinema debut in 2023, securing an impressive 89% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
One critic praised: “The Royal Hotel is a masterclass in tension-building. Green placing these characters in an inescapable place is one thing, but she is also intelligent enough to know that the scariest thing she could do is let these men be the men they are.”
Another reviewer simply declared: “A highly tense thriller that has your mind racing throughout.”
Meanwhile, one critique proclaimed: “The Royal Hotel is captivating and intense, resulting in a razor-sharp new thriller, signifying that no matter how much you try to escape the chaotic world, the madness of it will certainly find you.”
Following its arrival on Netflix, an entirely fresh audience is discovering the film’s sinister narrative.
As one viewer expressed: “This movie was hard to watch, and hard to stop watching.”
Another confessed: “I’ve not watched such a nerve shredding movie in as long as I can remember.”
The Royal Hotel is streaming on Netflix.