Last Night in Soho is a new, not to be missed psycho-horror from the producers of the Cornetto Trilogy. You can’t escape the hype surrounding Last Night in Soho, the new film from filmmaker Edgar Wright. But, what is presented and makes Last Night in Soho one of the interesting films that will provide cinematic visual satisfaction for film lovers? Here are five reasons to watch Last Night in Soho.
- It’s about two young women in two different timelines
One of them is Eloise (played by Thomasin McKenzie), an aspiring fashion designer who is drawn to Soho London in hopes of getting a big break. At night, her dreams take her to neon-lit 1960s Soho, where she experiences life through the eyes of pop singer Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). But this isn’t Austin Powers’ version of Swinging London: dreams soon turn into nightmares, experiences feel increasingly voyeuristic and nostalgic ideas are challenged – there’s never been a “good old time”, he says.
- Quality ensemble
Last Night in Soho was the final on-screen appearance by the great Diana Rigg, who died in 2020. Last seen on screen as Game of Thrones matriarch Olenna Tyrell, this new film is an aptly swansong for a woman who defines a certain type of woman. the archetype of the strong and eccentric 1960s woman with her roles as Emma Peel in the psychedelic ’60s spy series The Avengers, Tracy Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Catwoman in the ultra-campy TV series Batman. Meanwhile, the actress who has Diana Rigg-in-the-60s moments right now is Anya Taylor-Joy, who plays Sandie. Her starring role in Netflix’s hit miniseries, The Queen’s Gambit, has made her the biggest-selling new star on screen. As for the men, it’s former Doctor Who stars Matt Smith and Terence Stamp, whose work in the 1960s, particularly Ken Loach’s Poor Cow, inspired Wright’s films, and whose gaze a thousand yards can still freeze water.
- This is an Edgar Wright film. Period.
Edgar Wright was first recognized as an off-camera part of the trio –Simon Pegg and Nick Frost – which featured: Shaun Of The Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World’s End (2013), called the Cornetto Trilogy. Baby Driver, released in 2017, is a very sharp turn into the action film genre; a massive Hollywood production packed with chase scenes and fueled by a brilliant soundtrack. Last Night in Soho finds Wright back at home telling a story in which London’s neon-lit Soho is not the main character. And, like Baby Driver, it’s a step into a new genre for Wright: psychological thrillers ending in horror. It was also the start of a promising new creative partnership: wanting to tell a story about two women, Wright enlisted the great co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns to bring authenticity to the relationship between its leaders. “This is a film about a young girl who is attracted to a girl from the past,” says Wilson-Cairns, “and that bond is the most important thing in the whole film.”
- It will let you see Soho through a different lens
Last Night in Soho isn’t your type of hack ‘n’ slash horror, but it’s incredibly scary – maybe scarier – because the horrors are believable and come from humans. Londoner Wright said the edgy vibe was inspired by Soho itself, “a fascinating place, sometimes dark and sometimes fun inside.”
- The soundtrack is captivating
Soho was, and still is, a hub for jazz clubs, members clubs, nightclubs and venues, and the ‘British Invasion’ artist boom in the 60s made it their home. The area’s deep association with music directly inspired Wright, whose soundtrack has always been something special. In fact, it was a evocative playlist of music from the era that made Wright film in the first place. “I’ve put together 60 or so songs that I’ve loved since 2007,” Wright told EW. “So I guess at some point the songs became like notes to remind me to write films.” Having choreographed scenes in Baby Driver to music, Wright went one step further with Last Night In Soho by timing dreamy 1960s sequences to the length of the song playing. “The film literally moves to the beat of the song playing in the background,” explains Thomasin McKenzie. “There’s music playing in the background, and sometimes if it’s not music, it’s going to be a metronome beat. You’ll hear a tick and you should be right on that beat. The continuity in this film is unlike anything I’ve done before.”
Watch Last Night in Soho in theaters
