Review ‘Last Night in Soho’: Ghosts of the 60s Haunt this Modern Thriller from Edgar Wright

Last Night in Soho is now available on Blu-ray, Digital, DVD and 4K from Focus Features. Reader Beware Spoilers!

Director Edgar Wright became a household name with his film’s Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Baby Driver. His latest opus, Last Night in Soho, sees a departure from the usual comedic based storytelling. Instead we’re transported to the 1960’s, with ghosts divulging their secrets to a wide-eyed student trying to find herself in London. Starring Thomasin McKenzie (Old), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch), Matt Smith (‘Doctor Who’), Michael Ajao (Attack the Block), Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones), and Terence Stamp (‘His Dark Materials’).

Eloise (McKenzie) has just been accepted to a prestigious London Fashion school. Raised by her grandmother (Rita Tushingham) after her mother’s untimely death, she has grown up idolizing the 1960s culture of London, especially its music. A small fish in an even bigger pond, she is both in awe of the spectacle of the big city and cautious of the dangers of being naive.

After a disastrous first couple of days at university and being plagued by a roommate set on making her life a living hell. She finds sanctuary in a one-bedroom flat away from the craziness of a culture she can’t keep up with. The no-nonsense landlady, Miss Collins (Rigg), has strict rules to abide by, but Eloise finally has found a place she can call her own.

When a lucid dream transports her into the heyday of Soho in the 1960s, she quite literally mirrors the emergence of a tour de force named Sandie (Taylor-Joy) as she makes her way onto the scene of the Café De Paris dead set on becoming a star. Catching the eye of local talent scout Jack (Smith), the two seemed destined for greatness, taking the town by storm.

The two worlds begin to merge as she discovers confidence and style through her nightly rendezvous in the mind and body of Sandie. Her newfound spirit and swagger gain notoriety from the school instructors and students, including John (Ajao), the other student whose talents are on par with Ellie’s.

Still, she begins to shut out her modern surroundings to spend more time in the dream world of the 1960s. But as the glamour fades and the harsh reality of the destructive life choices that her idol faces, the rose-colored glasses come off. After a horrific vision of the demise of Sandie, Eloise becomes haunted by the visions she’s been romanticizing. She must find closure and justice before the ghosts of the past consume her, trapping her in her nightmare.

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Last Night in Soho is by far Edgar Wright’s most ambitious film. A departure from what we’ve come to expect, and I feel this may be his most personal work to date. A commentary on the romanticizing of the past, and ignoring the darkness that lingers under the surface. Wright manages to both, entice and repel, the viewer from wanting to live in a time we know nothing about. Misogyny, sexism, and the pursuit of fame no matter the cost are at the forefront on the screen.

Different times, one might say, but Wright manages to parallel the modern equivalent of similar behavior from both men and women. It’s also a study in mental health and the stigma of one’s past that can haunt us forever if we let it.

Choreography is King with Last Night in Soho, from dance numbers involving switching actors during the scene. To mirror effects where the actors are in the exact location playing off one another, the timing of every shot had to be precise. It’s truly a feat of the cast, crew, and choreographer Jennifer White that they pulled off such stunts in a seamless fashion.

Thomasin McKenzie is in nearly every scene, and carries the weight of the film on her shoulders. She is vulnerable, confident, terrified, and ruthless. She plays the young optimistic fish out of water with such reality you can’t help but live the story through her performance. 

Anya Taylor-Joy is both hypnotic and heartbreaking in her portrayal of a girl with big dreams, only to see them dashed by man’s insecurities. Matt Smith is both the epitome of cool when we meet him and the embodiment of a true monster when we really see him for who he is. He’s a man who could easily be an actor of any era and feel right as rain.

Last Night in Soho is a neon nightmare. Utilizing the signs of the area, red, white, and blue hues are most prominent, giving hints of a Giallo film. As the two stories collide, the technicolor aspect of the 1960s bleeds into the subdued modern tones when we first enter South London. As the ghosts of the past make their presence known, the colors are all over the place, which can be dizzying, but that feeling is necessary to understand what’s going on in Ellie’s head.

After tackling zombies, aliens, and cults, Edgar Wright delves into the world of the supernatural with Last Night in Soho. Faceless shadows become more aggressive when they notice they’re being paid attention to. Subtle at first and then overwhelming, it becomes the catalyst for Ellie to solve the mystery or suffer a similar fate that her mother endured. Though not what we’ve come to expect from the filmmaker. When you get past the tonal change, you’ll find yourself immersed in the world and along for the ride. As it’s stated, “no one ever really disappears, they’re always around someplace,” as long as you keep your mind open. 4/5

Last Night in Soho is now available on DVD, Digital, Blu-ray and 4K. You can check out the trailer below and be sure to follow ScaryNerd for all things horror, sci-fi and more.

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