Last Night In Soho has influences of Suspiria with the swinging 60s aesthetic of Bedazzled.
Edgar Wright moves back to the scares with his latest film, but gone are the jokes of Shaun, this is a Giallo affair of colour, sound and blood spatter.
To give any more of a synopsis would ultimately spoil the film, so overall the story is superbly written and whilst it does get a touch convoluted and predictable as it approaches the finale, it still holds you tightly in a solid grip.
The cast is phenomenal, Mackenzie’s Ellie is the country girl lost in the big smoke, in no way comfortable settling in to student halls she rents Read more...
Last Night In Soho has influences of Suspiria with the swinging 60s aesthetic of Bedazzled.
Edgar Wright moves back to the scares with his latest film, but gone are the jokes of Shaun, this is a Giallo affair of colour, sound and blood spatter.
To give any more of a synopsis would ultimately spoil the film, so overall the story is superbly written and whilst it does get a touch convoluted and predictable as it approaches the finale, it still holds you tightly in a solid grip.
The cast is phenomenal, Mackenzie’s Ellie is the country girl lost in the big smoke, in no way comfortable settling in to student halls she rents a room where the dark heart of the film beats. Her wonder as she escapes into a glamorous Soho of the 1960s suddenly replaced by terror and confusion as her life descends into a waking nightmare, she never becomes unconvincing or annoying.
Matt Smith turns his back on Doctor Who as the initially charming, but ultimately villainous, Jack. He turns from a smiling friend to a violent, vicious monster on a dime. The late Diana Rigg and marvellously malevolent Terence Stamp add to the enjoyment as Ellie’s landlady and a sinister pubgoer, in what are ostensibly extended cameos, but they bring a dynamic to the story as Ellie tries to keep her sanity.
Anya Taylor-Joy is the star of the show here though. An almost ethereal performance as the doomed lounge singer Sandie has you hanging in every word she says and movement she makes to try and figure out what really happened. On a side note, she also performed all her musical numbers and has a fabulous voice.
Wright’s use of sound, colour and short, shocking, visceral bursts of violence continually keeps the audience off balance, particularly when adding in ghostly elements; the grey spirits of the dead being truly chilling at times.
It’s not perfect, as I mentioned, it gets a tad convoluted and predictable near the climax, but the almost unbearably threatening tone, undercut with the early moments of joyous fantasy, completely make up for this.
There should also be special mention of the design of the film. Soho is as much a character as anyone else, at once glamorous and inviting while at the same time grimy and dangerous. Put all this together with some inventive camera work and you have one of the best movies of the year.
Absolutely worth watching. Edgar Wright does Giallo and it’s glorious.
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75%
7.3
