‘Last Night in Soho’ (LNS), directed by Edgar Wright, recreates the magic of both Swinging London and the Giallo movies of the 60s and 70s. It is an absorbing visual treat that meets the criteria to be classified under multiple genres of cinema, such as Horror, Psychological horror, thriller, and of course Giallo. LNS can be best described as a Neo-Giallo movie, as it incorporates many themes of classic Giallo, such as stunning imagery, gore, suspense, and supernatural elements. LNS also uses captivating modern special effects to pull in contemporary audiences.

London of the Swinging Sixties was a fascinating place, which saw the genesis of English counterculture. This counterculture is comparable to the Hippie culture of the 60s in the US. While Michelangelo Antonioni’s classic ‘Blow Up’ captured the imagery of this era, LNS recreates its magic through its ambitious sets.

The plot begins in the small rural town of Redruth, Australia, where a bubbly, young, and vibrant Ellie Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) lives with her grandmother and aspires to be a famous fashion designer. Ellie’s mother, who also was a fashion designer, has committed suicide years before.

Ellie often sees ‘images’ or visions of her mother in the mirror of her room. She is fascinated by the 60s and is inspired by the period’s fashion trends. She also prefers the music of that era over contemporary music.

After getting admission to the London College of Fashion, Ellie moves to London. Her cohorts on campus, especially her jealous, vicious roommate Jacosta (Synnøve Karlsen), cause her duress right from the time she arrives. John (Michael Ajao), a young and polite black man, another of Ellie’s classmates, becomes her only close friend and confidant.

Unable to deal with the harassment in her dormitory, Ellie moves off-campus and rents a room from Ms. Collins, an elderly lady. Right from the first night, Ellie begins to have surreal experiences. In her first such experience, Ellie is transported to Cafe de Paris, a trendy nightclub in London.

Cafe de Paris has an interesting history and was very popular in the 60s. In LNS, Edgar Wright recreates the ostentatious club and all its grandeur. At Cafe De Paris, Ellie sees a young, ambitious, and attractive blonde lady, Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), aggressively seek employment as a singer at a Soho club.

Soho, a historic locale, has been an elite entertainment center in London since the 19th Century. In her vision, Ellie watches Sandie as she meets Jack, a charismatic and polished gentleman who works as a manager at a nightclub in Soho. Almost immediately, Sandie begins a relationship with Jack. The following day, while attending class, Ellie designs an outfit inspired by Sandie’s dress. Ellie’s design impresses her instructor and John.

As Ellie settles down in her new surroundings, an older silvered-haired, intimidating man who lives near Ellie’s place of stay makes inappropriate statements each time he sees her on the street. Ellie does her best to stay away from him.

Each night, Ellie keeps having more unearthly experiences that go beyond mere visions or dreams. At times, she is a silent observer, watching Sandie dance with Jack from the other side of mirrors in the nightclub. Suddenly, she finds herself as part of Sandie, experiencing Sandie’s experiences. For instance, she experiences Sandie’s dance with Jack as if she, Ellie herself, is dancing with him.

Ellie starts working at a bar to earn more money to support herself. Her experiences progressively keep getting more disturbing. She realizes that the charismatic, polished gentleman Jack is actually a facade that hides his real nature. After Sandie is hired as a dancer and gets more involved with Jack, she and Ellie discover that Jack is really a ruthless, abusive, and controlling pimp. Jack forces Sandie to have sex with other powerful male patrons of the club.

In her own life, Ellie begins to model herself like Sandie, in hairstyle, and also dyes her hair blonde. She also emulates Sandie’s dressing style. This causes more aggravation for Jacosta. Moreover, the old strange man on the street also seems to be observing her with an increased undue, morbid fascination.

Ellie’s experiences become even more disturbing as she begins seeing zombie-like spirits all around her. The experiences that had previously been only in her nightly dreams begin to inhabit her waking hours, blending with her reality.

Ellie has yet another vision of Jack about to murder Sandie with a butcher knife. Now close to a breakdown, Ellie confronts the silver-haired man, who she believes is Jack, Sandie’s murderer. Her strange behavior is noticed by her classmates in college. They trigger a series of disturbing events and twists that all culminate in a final twist at the end of the movie.

LNS blends modern cinematography techniques and technology with visuals from Giallo and Zombie movies to accentuate the horror elements in the plot, with magnificent success. The performances from the entire cast are spectacular. Thomasin McKenzie is impressive as the vibrant Ellie, thrown into two universes that she tries her best to comprehend. One is modern-day London, a very different world from the small town she is used to. The other is the London of the 60s, where she is trying to unravel a mystery. Anya Taylor-Joy impresses as the strong but victimized Sandie. Terrence Young also puts in an impressive performance as the strange old man, a performance that has shades of Dennis Hopper’s acting in many neo-noir movies. ‘Last Night in Soho’ is a must-watch for all horror or Giallo fans.

One aspect of the movie I loved is that while Sandie falls for a good-looking con artist, Ellie chooses to trust a polite real-world type young man, John, who most young people can relate to. He is not a charming man with irresistible good looks. He is not the alpha male who takes charge of Ellie’s predicament by stepping into her troubles.

John is a person who could remind us, be someone we went to college with, someone we learn to like and respect after being around, perhaps someone we kept in contact with, even after we finished college. He is there to offer support but does not push boundaries. It is these qualities that finally push her to take the initiative. It would be interesting to know the origin of this character. Was he introduced in the screenplay or was he close to as described in the book? Whoever established his character made the movie more relatable. Screenplays should have more of such characters that add more realism to its universe.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caf%C3%A9_de_Paris,_London

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soho

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Night_in_Soho