Netflix star Julia Garner features in new Aussie thriller The Royal Hotel with Hugo Weaving

The new Australian film starring a massive Netflix star is going to give the cult backpacker flick a run for its money.

Move over, Wolf Creek! The trailer for the new Australian feature film The Royal Hotel just dropped and it’s going to give the cult backpacker flick a run for its money.

The Royal Hotel stars Julia Garner, 29, who found fame in the Netflix hit series Ozark and Inventing Anna. In the movie, she plays Hanna who goes on a backpacking adventure Down Under with her best friend Liv, played by Jessica Henwick, 31, of Game of Thrones fame.

The thirty-something duo embark on the trip of a lifetime backpacking across Australia in the movie, which is released on BINGE on December 15.

The Royal Hotel premieres on Binge on December 15.

But when they run out of money, they take a temporary live-in job behind the bar of a pub called The Royal Hotel in a remote outback mining town in South Australia.

Stream The Royal Hotel on BINGE from December 15. New BINGE customers get a 14-day free trial. Sign up at binge.com.au

Julia Garner and Jessica Henwick star in The Royal Hotel

Hugo Weaving leads the cast in the film directed by Aussie Kitty Green.

And what’s a thriller without a creepy bad guy? Enter Hugo Weaving. The iconic Aussie actor plays bar owner Billy who eggs on locals to give the girls a rowdy welcome to Aussie drinking culture.

After one too many nights of riotous evenings at work, the girls soon find themselves trapped in a dangerous environment.

Garner won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series for Ozark in 2022. Picture: Frederic J. Brown / AFP

Garner played real-life socialite Anna Delvey in the Netflix series Inventing Anna. Picture: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

While the on-screen setting was concerning, behind the scenes it was a pleasant experience for Garner who worked with Aussie director Kitty Green before in her debut film The Assistant in 2019.

“I love it. I could live there,” Garner told ABC News Breakfast of The Royal Hotel. “It was really wonderful experience.”

It wasn’t just Green who made Garner says an “easy yes” to the film – she was also excited to work with the one and only Hugo Weaving.

“He’s a national treasure,” she said. “He is phenomenal in every take – it is just amazing to watch.”

The Royal Hotel premieres on Friday, December 15 on BINGE and on Movies Premiere at 8.30pm on Saturday, January 13 and is available On Demand.

Originally published as Netflix star Julia Garner features in new Aussie thriller The Royal Hotel with Hugo Weaving