--- title: "The Royal Hotel: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-royal-hotel/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-royal-hotel" critics_score: 76 critics_reviews: 17 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Royal Hotel (2023): what the critics said Critics' score 76 from 17 reviews: 14 positive, 3 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics like The Royal Hotel, and the spread is narrow: no outright negative reviews, and the doubters are lukewarm rather than hostile. The praise clusters around two things. The first is Julia Garner, whose watchful, tightly controlled performance is singled out in almost every review, with Jessica Henwick and Hugo Weaving getting steady if quieter credit. The second is Kitty Green’s handling of dread, the way small indignities in a remote outback pub accumulate until violence feels a breath away, which several critics call gripping and a few call close to unbearable. The reservations cluster around the last act and the two women themselves. The Hollywood Reporter finds the climax mechanical rather than cathartic, Vulture thinks the central friendship goes underexplored, and Sight and Sound judges it a less subtle film than Green’s earlier The Assistant. Little White Lies is the coolest voice, finding it harrowing but not as deeply unsettling as hoped. ## Evening Standard — Hanna Flint Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 6 November 2023. The critic hails the film as a searing comment on contemporary gender politics that simmers with oppressive testosterone before boiling over into cathartic female rage. It is skilfully told and exquisitely performed, with Julia Garner's hyper-vigilant portrayal singled out amid the nervy tension and explosive finale. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-royal-hotel-film-review-kitty-green-b1115941.html) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 4 November 2023. The critic calls the film brilliant and nerve-shredding, praising Kitty Green's follow-up to The Assistant for its tense depiction of a woman's perspective in a threatening male-dominated setting. They highlight Julia Garner's superb performance and the film's smart, understated psychological thriller elements amid the outback bar atmosphere. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/04/the-royal-hotel-review-nerve-shredding-outback-thriller-kitty-green-julia-garrner-jessica-henwick-the-assistant) ## Variety — Amy Nicholson Rating Critics Pick. 16 September 2023. The critic calls it an ulcer-inducing thriller that uses genre conventions to sharpen awareness of toxic dynamics everywhere, based on a real documentary. She praises the director's control in making every scene gripping and pointed without feeling hectoring, highlighting the leads' performances. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/the-royal-hotel-review-1235725329/) ## Empire — Sophie Butcher Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 3 November 2023. The critic calls it a slight but mightily effective adrenaline rush of a movie that delivers powerful performances and precise direction from Kitty Green while building stomach-churning dread. The unsettling atmosphere of the remote mining pub and the controlled, convincing lead turn by Julia Garner are highlighted as the tension escalates. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-royal-hotel/) ## Los Angeles Times — Jessica Kiang Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 October 2023. The critic describes the film as a queasily gripping thriller exposing familiar dread through a taxonomy of male aggression in an isolated outback bar. She singles out its precise recreation of situations that make viewers judge the women's choices while highlighting varied toxic behaviors. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-10-06/the-royal-hotel-review-julia-garner-jessica-henwick-kitty-green) ## The Telegraph Rating 4/5. The review describes the film as a chilling, gripping slow-burn thriller about two backpackers in a menacing outback pub, crediting strong performances especially from Hugo Weaving and the young Australian cast. It notes the film's effective build of unease drawn from real-life inspirations. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/the-royal-hotel-review/) ## Time Out Rating 4/5. 31 October 2023. Two backpackers face a tense standoff with boozy blokes in an outback pub thriller that heightens the risk through its Australian setting. The film traces a line from classic outback shockers while Garner anchors the off-kilter tone effectively. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-royal-hotel-2023) ## The Independent — Mark Kennedy Rating 3/4. 4 October 2023. The critic finds the film a subtle, captivating psychological thriller about two American backpackers facing toxic masculinity in a remote Australian pub, but advises not to linger too long in its discomforting atmosphere. It builds tension through accumulating indignities and a pessimistic view of gender relations, with strong performances from the leads. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ap-american-australia-julia-garner-jessica-henwick-b2424071.html) ## Radio Times — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). American backpackers take bar jobs in the outback serving a male-dominated clientele that dishes out toxic masculinity. Director Kitty Green stokes an atmosphere where microaggressions add up and violence always feels imminent, though the second half strains credibility. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-27bbmo/the-royal-hotel/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 6 October 2023. The thriller builds secondhand-hangover tension through the women's constant recalibration in male spaces, proving effective if messier and less devastating than Green's prior work, though the central friendship feels underexplored. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2023/10/the-royal-hotel-will-give-you-a-secondhand-hangover.html) ## Little White Lies — Mark Asch Rating 4/3/3. 2 November 2023. Green delivers more cinema of ominous discomfort in an out-of-the-way Australian boozer with low-boiling violence. It is harrowing but does not burrow under the skin as deeply as hoped, with a schematic contrast between the protagonists and a cathartic third-act escalation. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-royal-hotel) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich 2 September 2023. Green re-teams with Garner for a pulpier, more explosive tale of the male gaze and workplace abuse in the outback, where the two backpackers navigate constant threat from drunken miners. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-royal-hotel-review-1234902016/) ## Screen Daily 8 September 2023. Festival review. Kitty Green delivers a further devastating drama on toxic masculinity as two female friends discover how inhospitable the Australian Outback can be. It is an unsettling psychological thriller in which the possibility of violence looms heavily, with strong work from the lead actresses. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-royal-hotel-toronto-review/5185693.article) ## Sight and Sound 11 October 2023. The film builds a queasy, swampy atmosphere around two American backpackers working in a remote Australian pub as the threat of violence grows. It examines what women are willing to put up with for politeness, livelihood and safety in a less subtle follow-up to The Assistant. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/royal-hotel-backpacking-adventure-turns-toxic-kitty-greens-quiet-thriller) ## Slant Magazine — Gregory Nussen 26 September 2023. Green's dread-inducing vision keeps viewers on a knife's edge amid constant threat of violence in the outback bar, using sonic and horror tropes to convey the deadening effect of sexual abuse with diamond-hard precision. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-royal-hotel-review-julia-garner-jessica-henwick-kitty-green/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Sheri Linden 3 September 2023. Festival review. The film delivers a pummeling experience of dread overload in a remote outback pub, with strong performances from Garner and Henwick as friends facing escalating menace, but the climax feels mechanical rather than cathartic. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-royal-hotel-review-julia-garner-jessica-henwick-kitty-green-1235580854/) ## The New York Times — Jeannette Catsoulis Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 5 October 2023. The critic finds the film a coolly calibrated thriller in which two young women bartend in a remote Australian pub amid menacing male patrons. She praises the pervasive mood of clammy menace created through language and setting, along with strong performances from the leads. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/05/movies/the-royal-hotel-review.html) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 4 September 2023. Festival review. The critic calls it a riveting thriller in which Green flexes her genre muscles, with strong performances from Julia Garner and Jessica Henwick. The review highlights the unnerving atmosphere, male entitlement, and an explosive ending fueled by female rage. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-royal-hotel-review-kitty-green-ulia-garner/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 11 September 2023. Festival review. The critic praises the shift in style from Green’s previous film and lauds the performances by Garner, Henwick, and Weaving along with the pitch-perfect atmosphere. It notes the film’s effective handling of escalating drama and tension around male behavior without painting all men as monsters. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2023/09/the-royal-hotel-review-julia-garner-jessica-fenwick-kitty-green-toronto-film-festival-1235543488/) ## HeyUGuys — Lisa Giles-Keddie Rating 4/5. 17 October 2023. Festival review. The film is a tense drama exploring toxic masculinity and isolation as two backpackers take a bar job in a remote outback pub. Garner excels as the watchful Hanna navigating escalating threats and survival choices. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-royal-hotel-review/) ## /Film — Barry Levitt Rating 7.5/10. 19 September 2023. Festival review. Kitty Green delivers a nerve-shredding thriller about two women facing escalating dangers while working in an isolated outback bar. The film effectively amps up themes of entitlement and toxicity with strong performances, especially from Weaving. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1397180/the-royal-hotel-review-tiff-2023/) ## Collider — Isabella Soares Rating C+. 18 September 2023. Festival review. Julia Garner delivers an immersive performance capturing a guarded woman, while Jessica Henwick's character lacks depth. The set design and cinematography create a chilling atmosphere, and the film highlights challenges women face in a male-dominated world, but it falls short on developing characters and motivations, making the ending bittersweet. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-royal-hotel-review/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2023. Green returns to themes of toxic masculinity in a tense outback setting where microaggressions keep characters on edge. The mood is gripping but the women's relationship strains believability and some elements feel overly familiar. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-royal-hotel-2023-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## Paste — Andy Crump Rating 8.5. 5 October 2023. Kitty Green's film explores misogyny and cultural clashes in an Australian outback pub through two backpackers' experiences, highlighting normalized harassment but offering a somewhat upbeat resolution compared to her previous work. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/kitty-green/the-royal-hotel-review) ## The Playlist — Gregory Ellwood Rating C+/B-. 7 September 2023. Festival review. Garner impresses in a simmering thriller about misogyny and culture clash in a remote Australian pub. The film builds tension effectively but leaves too much ambiguous and falters in its final act. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/the-royal-hotel-review-julia-garner-impresses-in-aussie-outback-thriller-telluride-20230907/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-royal-hotel.md