As part of our October HorrorFest, we will be posting new reviews of relatively recent horror films during the month of October
A fashion student is haunted by memories of an aspiring singer from the 1960s in Last Night in Soho. Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) is a 1960s-obsessed young woman from the English countryside, who is accepted into the London College of Fashion. Unhappy with the living situation at her dorm, Eloise decides to rent a room in London's Soho district from Miss Collins (Diana Rigg). While sleeping in the room, Eloise has nightly visions that transport herself to the 1960s, where she lives in the footsteps of Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy), an aspiring lounge-singer, courted by charming manager Jack (Matt Smith). However, the visions progressively get darker for Eloise, as she learns of something sinister that happens.
Last Night in Soho is a horror fantasy directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver), from a script co-written by Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917). The film stars Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit, Old), who happens to have the ability to have visions of the dead. When she begins having visions of 1960s lounge singer Sandy, Eloise initially finds great inspiration in both her fashion design and personal appearance. However, when she learns something terrible might have happened to Sandy, Eloise finds herself tormented by the ghosts of the past.
Last Night in Soho is a very stylized film with red and blue visual cues that are clearly inspired by films such as Dario Argento's Suspiria, with the plot also having a very Hitchcockian flair to it. The first half of Last Night in Soho emphasizes the 1960s fantasy element of the story and the mid-film switch to full-on Giallo-influenced horror might catch some off guard, with its intensity and gory bloodshed. However, the film is held together with strong performances from probably the most female-heavy cast Edgar Wright has ever worked with.
The two lead performances by Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy and meant to literally mirror each other, particularly as McKenzie's character of Eloise dyes her hair blonde and begins to dress in a similar fashion to Taylor-Joy's character of Sandy. Eloise's change in appearance catches the attention of a mysterious elderly gentleman, played by Terence Stamp, who might have a connection to the events Eloise sees in nightly visions. However, the true star supporting performance in Last Night in Soho the late Diana Rigg (On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Game of Thrones), who shines in her final role as Eloise's landlady Miss Collins.
Altogether, Last Night in Soho is a stylized horror fantasy that will probably satisfy those who have been fans of Edgar Wright since Shaun of the Dead.
