Hell Motel Episode 1 and 2 Recap: Blood Bath and Night Orchid

In Shudder’s ‘Hell Motel,’ a group of people are trapped in a place that gained notoriety for murders committed there about thirty years ago. The first two episodes of the season set the foundation of the mystery that is to unfold over next six episodes, and so far, it is clear that the show intends to indulge in bloodshed and mayhem, while also unravelling the mystery behind the murderer’s identity as a clever whodunit, full of all sorts of red herrings and unexpected twists and and turns. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Welcome to Hell Motel

‘Hell Motel’ opens on a rainy night in 1995. Joey and Caitlyn are newlyweds who were supposed to spend their night in a much better place. But the rain and the storm force them to find refuge in the first place that they come across on a seemingly abandoned stretch of the world. The motel, called Cold River Motel, is run by Floyd and Shirley, who are extremely welcoming of the guests. Apart from the usual services of the place, they offer their guests a complimentary bottle of champagne, but soon, it turns out that the bottle is broken and is to be used as a murder weapon. Floyd and Shirley kill Joey, and then they sacrifice Caitlyn at a pentagram altar.

Thirty years later, the motel has become infamous for the murders, and now, it is being reopened. It is owned by a couple, Portia and Ruby, with the latter being the one who convinced her partner that buying a murder house would be a profitable investment, given the public’s rising obsession with all things true crime. Before opening the motel for the general public, they want to create some hype around it, so they invite a group of people from varying fields to live in the motel for the weekend and then spread the word about it through their platforms.

One of the guests is Paige, an actress known for her work in horror films, particularly playing the role of Caitlyn in a movie made about her murder. There is also Blake, who doesn’t just write true crime stories, but also has lived through one. There is Andy, who has a more academic interest in true crime, and Kawayan, an artist who has made a name for himself through the recreation of murder scenes. It turns out that Kawayan has also installed his art pieces in the motel.

There is also a medium named Crow, but one of the more interesting guests is Adriana, whose profession is flight attendant, but whose passion, or rather obsession, is having sex with serial killers. To make things more interesting, a couple walks into the motel during dinner. When they are denied a room because the entire place is booked solely for guests, they are allowed to park their RV close by so that they can survive the storm raging outside. This couple, unbeknownst to others, turns out to be Floyd and Shirley, the receptionists behind the murders thirty years ago.

The Killing Spree Begins

When the guests arrive at the motel, they believe that they are supposed to be a part of a unique experience that they can then share with the world, attracting more crowds and business to the location. Portia and Ruby reveal that everyone will be filmed while they are at the motel, which they exhibit through an example where Ruby runs after Paige while wearing the mask and costume of the killer while Portia films it. There is some outcry about the whole privacy thing, but overall, everyone agrees to it. Later that evening, everyone assembles for dinner, where they meet Hemmingway, a chef who specialises in recreating murder scenes on dinner tables. But it is one thing to make food from vegan and vegetarian stuff to make it look like parts of a dead body, and entirely another to make people drink a cocktail containing his blood.

Everyone is freaked out by Hemmingway’s cooking, but someone takes it so much to heart that the next day, they lock the chef into the sauna, where he burns to death. By the time the others find him, he is already so cooked that his flesh has started to come off his bones in a slippery mess. This murderer wears the same mask and robe as the serial killer from thirty years ago, which means that this stunt was not for publicity. No one notices Hemmingway’s absence until Crow assembles everyone for a seance, with Paige lying in the middle of a pentagram to allow the spirits into her body. When Crow complains that everyone needs to be there, Ruby goes looking for the chef and finds something else entirely.

Hemmingway’s death puts everyone on edge. Now that they know there is a killer among them, they try to think of ways to run away. When Floyd and Shirley offer their RV, it blows up into flames, removing the option of driving away. When it is suggested that they should walk to the nearest town, the stormy weather and the dangerous wildlife around the motel become a problem. Realising that they all must spend their night in the motel, they arm themselves, while also being wary of everyone around them. This does not stop Blake and Adriana from having kinky sex, where she ties him up to the bed with handcuffs and cuts him, despite his protests. What really unnerves him is the way she talks about killing others, even if hypothetically.

The Killer Strikes Again

Hemmingway’s death stirs up trouble in the group, but signs of it had already been there. When it turned out that Paige was being paid to be at the motel, Hemmingway lashed out at her by calling her a has-been, among other things. Paige, meanwhile, had planned to leave the place in Floyd and Shirley’s RV because she is fed up with playing the victim who is blamed for things on several levels. She also receives sympathy from Andy after she has a tiff with Hemmingway, which she takes in her stride. What she doesn’t know is that the couple she asked for help from blew up their own vehicle because they have murderous plans of their own. It turns out that the last time, they wanted to perform a ritual, but something went wrong. Now, they have returned thirty years later to finish the same ritual, which means they intend to murder everyone.

However, it seems someone has already beaten them to it. When they talk to each other, they confess that neither of them has killed Hemmingway, which means that there is another killer out there. That person is either a copycat or knows about the ritual and is trying to finish it like Floyd and Shirley. Undeterred by this new person’s presence, Floyd tries to murder others. He finds Crow in the middle of the road, leading away from the motel. However, the medium meets a wolf on the way, whom Floyd chases away, while warning Crow that he shouldn’t leave. His behaviour comes off as suspicious, and Crow convinces himself that Floyd is a murderer, if not the murderer.

Perhaps what saves Crow is the sudden appearance of Andy, whom he had informed about his trip to the town. As the three men return to the motel, they cross paths with Ruby, who is almost killed by Floyd, until Shirley steps in to stop him. If they are going to do it, they must do things the right way, rather than hurrying about it. At least, that’s what Shirley believes. Whatever the right way is remains to be seen, but for now, we see Portia getting murdered by someone while her partner, Ruby, sleeps next to her after popping some pills. When she wakes up, she is horrified to find her lover’s body next to her, which pains her even more because she was the one who convinced Portia to buy the place and turn it into a magnet for true crime enthusiasts. At the same time, she must also confront the prospect of having been so close to the murder that she could have died too.