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A Review of “Last Night in Soho (2021)”

 

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Edgar Wright is one of my favourite directors working right now. His work on the Cornetto trilogy, Scott Pilgrim and Baby Driver was amazing. When he revealed his next work to be a horror movie, I was super interested. The premise is “An aspiring fashion designer is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s, where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer. However, the glamour is not all it appears to be, and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker”. So is this another home run by Edgar or a truly forgettable night in Soho?

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One thing I appreciate about this movie is just how unique Last Night in Soho is. Edgar Wright conjured a horror movie like no other. Edgar blends a mix of mystery and psychological horror in a wonderful way that just works. The mystery aspect is the most central element in the plot. Trying to figure out what is going on with our main character and what happened in the 1960s is what keeps the story interesting. Throughout the film, I was trying to piece everything just like our main lead and I love that! Psychological horror is the second element and it is handled fascinatingly. There is the ghost stuff which is typical horror movie stuff but the real horror is the things that happened underneath the surface, which I won’t spoil. It’s not a topic that I would expect Edgar to explore but he handled it in a tasteful way that works for the movie. What he explored feels believable, in that you could see it happening in the real life. It’s quite scary to believe that but that is what makes the film great.

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Additionally, I love the contrast in production design and cinematography between the modern-day and the 1960s. The cinematography and sets are very grey, brown and slightly washed out in colour in the modern-day. When it changes to the 1960s, it then becomes incredibly vibrant and colourful even during the darker stuff. The costume designs are also wonderful in showing this contrast as well with the wonderfully elegant 1960s clothes feeling very authentic. Edgar Wright is also still able to give some great camera shots. One memorable sequence is a dance scene where the girl keeps changing between Eloise of present-day and Sandie of the 1960s. On that note, all the actors do a great job, even those with small screen time such as Terence Stamp and Diana Rigg (who sadly passed away). Anna Taylor Joy gives a performance, unlike anything she has done before as Sandie. However, she ain’t the main lead as that responsibility goes to Thomasin McKenzie who does a phenomenal job. She is able to convey the fact that her character, Eloise, was losing her mind and it was a sight to see her go from sweet and loving to an almost full-on panic attack.   

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I mentioned it before but the film utilises Ghost in the plot as a way to give scares but it doesn’t really work. It is very clear this is Edgar’s first attempt at the horror as the Ghost just kind of appear in the full body which reduces any impact of a scare from them. He also starts to use them a bit too much that it gets to the point that I just kind of felt numb to their appearance. It gets especially noticeable in the second half where build-up and tension just get tossed out for another event of “ghost appearing time!”. On that note, in terms of writing the second half becomes a very B movie and campy. It’s not as strong as the first half and gets to a point where it feels very silly. There are also some cool reveals but they don’t get executed in a very satisfying manner.

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Overall, this is a great first attempt at horror from Edgar Wright. Although, some would argue that this is more of a mystery than horror as it ain’t downright scary. Nevertheless, I had an enjoyable experience watching this film and I’m glad that Edgar did something more original in a genre that is losing a lot of steam. Edgar film is one memorable night in Soho and I can’t wait to see what Edgar does next.


 

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