Diksha Sundriyal
The fourth episode of Shudder’s ‘Hell Motel’ continues the bloodbath at Cold River Motel as more people die. The episode opens in the aftermath of Crow’s murder at the hands of the masked killer, whose motives still remain mysterious, though there is a good chance that it may have something to do with opening the gates of Hell and freeing the demon, Baphomet. It’s his name that Crow continues to whisper while the rest of the guests gather around him, asking who hammered nails into his skull. Eventually, Crow passes out, and Kawayan declares him dead. But that’s not the last we see of him.
Shirley Gauges Kawayan as the Third Murderer
When Kawayan and Floyd take Crow’s body away with the intention of putting him to rest with the other dead, the man turns out to be breathing still. Floyd is the only one who notices this, and instead of trying to help the man, he decides to finish the masked man’s work and chokes out whatever life was left inside of him. While he is happy to share this information with Shirley, there is still the issue of the third killer, who is a danger to them not only because he would want to kill them but also because he is killing all the other people, and there will come a time when none will be left for Floyd and Shirley to sacrifice in the name of Baphomet.
Still convinced that Kawayan is the third killer, Shirley goes into his room to get him to confess. What she finds is a new art installation that captures her fancy, especially after he reveals that he has used his own blood to thicken one of the paints. As he and Shirley engage in a conversation, she is captivated by him so much that she ends up giving some of her own blood for the art. Eventually, the conversation steers to the point where Shirley starts talking about her dark side, and Kawayan realises that she wants him to confess. He clarifies that despite the darkness inside him, things are not so bad that he would become a murderer. This is when she realises that she was wrong about him. When she shares this information with Floyd, he asks her if they can kill him now, and she finally agrees.
Shirley and Floyd’s Meet-Cute
While Shirley and Floyd are introduced as the killer couple who already have a few kills under their belt, they weren’t always so. There was a time, about three decades ago, when Floyd was a Satanist who spread the word through his songs, and Shirley was a Christian who was starting to question her beliefs. His songs validate her feelings, so she seeks him out and they have a quick chat about whether God can actually do anything about good or evil, and they wonder if the best people to talk about good and evil are Satan and his demons.
It also turns out that Shirley has come prepared for a ritual that would conjure a demon. However, it doesn’t work out as expected, which is too bad for the cat that was supposed to be the sacrifice. Over time, Shirley discovers that the planet Saturn has a lot to do with evil and demons. Floyd points out that it is the sixth planet and pertains to the sixth day of the week, and Shirley notes that it takes thirty years for Saturn to complete its revolution around the sun. That anniversary is approaching soon, which makes her believe that this is the right time to perform the ritual and call the demons for a little chat.
She also reveals that she has found a place where the ley lines merge, which means that a lot of energy has collected in that place, which could be what they lacked in their previous rituals. It is also decided that six people and their blood would be needed to get things going. Having agreed on all the points, the duo drives down to the nearest merging point of lay lines, which brings them to the Cold River Motel.
The Guests Try to Make it Into the Wild
Meanwhile, the guests decide that they are done being sitting ducks inside the motel and wait for the killer to find and kill them. Andy proposes the idea of leaving and trying to find a way back to civilisation. Blake agrees to his plan, so does a reluctant Paige and an unsure Adriana. Kawayan decides to join them too, especially after he is freaked out by Floyd’s reaction. Floyd tries to convince everyone that the woods would be even more dangerous than the motel, and they would be more vulnerable. However, they believe that there would be strength in numbers.
As everyone prepares to leave at the crack of dawn, Floyd and Shirley become desperate to keep everyone in the motel. Andy and Kawayan are the first ones to step out, and they are met with Crow’s head on a spike. As if this wasn’t enough to creep them out, they are confronted by the masked man, now christened Baphomet by everyone. At first, it seems that two would be able to outnumber one, but the murderer appears to be more capable of attacking and killing two people are once. Despite their combined efforts, Andy is wounded, and he and Kawayan retreat inside the motel, alerting everyone to stay inside.
As the commotion begins, Floyd slips inside his room and hides away the mask and the costume, which means that he was the one to attack Andy and Kawayan, and with them and everyone else freaked out, his plan has worked. This sudden turn of events inflames Blake, who realises that the attacker’s shoes must be wet from the rain outside. He knows that Andy and Kawayan aren’t in it, but he calls out everyone else to check their shoes. When he comes to Shirley and Floyd’s room, the latter becomes a bit violent, which forces Blake to calm down. Still, Shirley presents a pair of dry shoes to the rest, convincing them that she and Floyd had nothing to do with the attack.
Is Kawayan Dead?
Now that it is clear that no one is willing to leave the motel, everyone tries to cope with the situation in their own way. Paige tends to Andy’s wounds and seems more attracted to him now that he has a battle scar. Andy notes her interest, and he jumps to her defense when Blake asks to see her shoes. Meanwhile, Adriana is scared. She saw the whole attack happen from her window, but her fear froze her so that she wasn’t able to react and call for help. She is disturbed by the discovery that she is of no use when actual danger shows up, and that meeting death is nowhere near sleeping with serial killers for excitement.
When she shares this experience with Blake, he consoles her and tells her that this is a purely human reaction and makes her a bit more likable, rather than making her seem like a total psychopath. As she relaxes in his room, he steps out, holding a knife, saying that he is going to find a deck of cards so that they can kill some time. Meanwhile, Floyd shows up in Kawayan’s room and attacks the artist, who is caught off guard, not just by him, but also by Shirley, who jumps from the shadows to attack him. The duo butchers the guy, but when they leave the room, he is still alive. Or at least, he is alive long enough for the third killer to show up wearing a mask and finish the job.
Immediately after this, we see Blake come back to his room with the promised cards, and he and Adriana start to play. She is a little disconcerted when reminded that Ruby was not the killer after all and that she was killed for nothing. Meanwhile, Andy enters the hallway, and something makes him open Kawayan’s door. Instead of lying on the floor, the body has now been turned into an art installation of its own, which shows that the mysterious murderer has a twisted sense of humour.
Read More: Is Hell Motel a True Story? Are the Cold River Slaughters Real?
