“Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon)” - Bad Times At The El Royale

*Spoilers Ahead*

Film: Bad Times At The El Royale (2018)

Director: Drew Goddard

Music: Danielle Engen (Music Coordinator)

The 2018 film Bad Times At The El Royale is a 2.5 hour thrill-ride following the fates of five strangers spending one night at the famous bi-state hotel The El Royale. Music is integral to the film’s plot and is, in many ways, a character in the film just as much as our Billy Lee, Father Flynn, and Darlene Sweet are. 

The film is set in 1969 in The El Royale Hotel where guests have the option to stay in California or Nevada. Once a place for the Hollywood and political elites of the world, The El Royale is now a run-down establishment whose only employee is a frazzled bellhop/housekeeper/bartender who eases the pain of his past through drugs. A thriller that dives into the personal lives of the residents of The El Royale - both past and present - Bad Times At The El Royale’s music plays the role of tension builder and tension breaker. A majority of the licensed music in the film carries a 50s/60s doo-wop and soul sound with notable appearances from The Isley Brothers, The Crystals, and The Four Preps. However, the most influential song in this film comes when the mysterious Billy Lee arrives at the El Royale to The Mamas & The Papas’ “Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon).” 

Staying at the El Royale is a priest, a singer, a vacuum salesman, and a hippie - and no, this isn’t the set-up to a bad joke. As the night progresses, each of our characters become more intertwined with one another. We learn the priest is really a thief looking for hidden money in the singer’s room; the vacuum salesman is truly an undercover FBI agent; and the hippie (Emily) is rescuing her sister (Rose) from Billy Lee and his cult of anarchists that closely mirrors the Manson Family. The night gets progressively worse as cars break down, people get shot, and we learn the dark secrets of The El Royale. 

The climax of the movie comes after Rose has called Billy Lee to come rescue her and decide the fates of the other guests at The El Royale. Billy Lee’s entrance is accompanied by neon lights in the dark, rain pouring out of the skies, and a close-up shot of his boots walking the line between California and Nevada - all set to The Mamas & The Papas’ “Twelve Thirty.” 

A folk-rock song about leaving behind the hustle and bustle of city life, “Twelve Thirty” serves as a tone-shift in the film. The song feels liberating as our narrator ditches their dreary life in the city and moves out west where things are sunny, opportunities abound, and beautiful women can be found at every turn. Within the context of Bad Time At The El Royale, the song serves as an anthem for Billy Lee and the following he has gained - composed mostly of young women who are lost and looking for guidance, much like Rose is. 

From this moment on, the movie devolves into chaos, cruel games, and battle between our guests and Billy Lee. We see glimpses of Billy Lee’s history with his cult-like following, his disdain for religion and authority, and the harm his charisma can create. This song fits so perfectly in the film because as soon as it plays, we as an audience know that things are shifting. We’ve left behind the era of tender, wholesome love songs and have entered a period of free love, the counterculture movement, and the dangerously enigmatic Billy Lee.