Hell Motel episodes 1 & 2 recap: Cold River Motel opens after 30 years, and the murderer strikes again

Hell Motel, the latest supernatural series from Shudder, tells the story of a haunted motel where new guests flock in after a horrific tragedy that happened 30 years earlier. The official synopsis of the show, as per Rotten Tomatoes, mentions,

“A group of 10 true crime obsessives are invited to the opening of the newly renovated Cold River Motel, the site of a satanic mass murder; history repeats itself when the guests get stranded and start getting knocked off one by one.”

With an extremely gory premise and full of twists and turns, the first two episodes of Hell Motel have set the stage for what is to come. Let us now explore in detail what happens in the first two episodes and how the murderer's return causes manic and mayhem among the present inhabitants of the motel.

Cold River Motel witnesses two gruesome murders in 1995 in Hell Motel

The premise of Hell Motel is set in the year 1995, when newlywed couple Joey and Caitlyn have to take shelter in the Cold River Motel as they get trapped by the rain and storm. The couple seems to have reached a place that looks like a completely abandoned part of the world, and therefore, they have to choose the very first inhabitable place they can get access to.

Initially, the motel, which is run by Floyd and Shirley, seems fine as they warmly welcome the guests. Moreover, they also give the newlyweds a bottle of champagne as a token of celebration. Unfortunately, it is soon revealed that the bottle, which is actually broken, is going to be used to kill Joey.

After Joey is killed by Floyd and Shirley, they sacrifice Caitlyn as well and thus cementing the violent and haunting history of the motel. The story then moves forward 30 years, and it is shown that due to its reputation, the motel has been closed, and a new couple, Portia and Ruby, are now reopening it.

Floyd and Shirley return after 30 years in the Hell Motel

Ruby’s idea that buying a motel with a true crime history would be a successful endeavor turns out to be right, as Cold Motel River indeed draws a lot of guests when it is reopened after 30 years. The guests Ruby and Portia invite belong to a number of fields, as that would also ensure that the motel gets well-advertised in different sections of people.

Among the guests is a horror film actress, Paige. Incidentally, she had played the role of Caitlyn in one of her movies that was based on what happened in this motel 30 years ago. Other guests include Blake, a true crime story writer; Kawayan, a person who recreates crime scenes and is quite good at what he does; Andy, a man with a deep academic interest in true crimes; and Crow, a flight attendant who is obsessed with having sex with serial killers.

While all these people have a common interest in true crime and serial killers, the twist comes when another couple joins this group at night but cannot be given a room and thus remain in their RV that is parked close by. This couple turns out to be none other than Floyd and Shirley, the couple who had committed the infamous murders thirty years back.

As the story proceeds and the chef Hemmingway gets murdered, it becomes clear that the killer(s) have returned, and the guests start to panic. With more murder and mayhem and having no way to escape the motel, history begins to repeat itself in the Cold River Motel.

Hell Motel is available to watch on Shudder and AMC Plus.

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