Last Night in Soho (5 Stars)

This is a supernatural horror film directed by Edgar Wright. It's different to any of his previous films. In particular, there's no humour, which I've always considered to be his trademark.

Eloise Turner, nicknamed Ellie, lives in Redruth, Cornwall. Yes, the town really does exist, although it's so obscure that I had to check Google Maps to verify its existence. She dreams of becoming a fashion designer, so she goes to London to study fashion. She's fascinated by the 1960's, the music and the fashion. She also has a gift, if it can be called that. She sees visions of her mother, who died when she was seven. Most people would accuse Ellie of being mad, but her grandmother believes her.

At college Ellie is immediately an outsider. Her fellow students are all modern girls, so Ellie's interest in the 1960's makes her seem antiquated. After a few days sharing a room in the students hall of residence she moves out to live by herself in a bedsit.

Her new accommodation has a history of violence, which Ellie's psychic gift picks up, whether she wants it or not. When she's asleep she sees herself as Sandy, a glamorous aspiring singer in the 1960's who hopes to be the next Cilla Black. She enters the body of this singer and experiences her tragic life as she's forced into prostitution to make money. What starts as dreams turns into waking visions that she can't turn off, although she's no longer in the woman's body in these visions. It comes to a climax when Ellie witnesses Sandy being murdered.

Ellie reports the murder to the police, which isn't a good idea. "I'd like to report a murder that took place in my room 50 years ago. I saw it in a vision". The police don't help, but Ellie doesn't give up. She searches newspaper archives for articles about dead bodies or missing people 50 years ago. But the visions are continuing, intruding into her life more and more.

Thomasin McKenzie as Ellie.

Anya Taylor-Joy as Sandy.

They're two beautiful young women from two different worlds whose lives are intertwined.

The film starts slowly as the mystery unravels, and it becomes terrifying as the visions intensify and Ellie can't escape. It's an excellent horror film, and I hope that Edgar Wright will make more films like this.

Success Rate:  - 1.9

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