The only thing I knew about Last Night in Soho was that it was directed by Edgar Wright and it was classified as horror. I went in blind and I was met with something that was aggressively not a horror movie. Even when it delved into fantasy, it wasn’t showing any hints of horror. I was a little confused but I was ok with it because the darn movie was cool and interesting. But horror? No.

That is, until it was.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie grow so naturally into a horror movie before. Just an organic and subtle shift, one scene at a time, until we’re in full horror mode. No red flags. Just a picture about a shy girl trying to make it on her own in the big city. And that’s cool.

Almost as cool as this movie in general. The flick is about a country girl who goes to fashion college in London and gets an apartment in fashionable Soho. She soon starts having visions of a super cool mod 60’s chick (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) who had moved to Soho back then. She is her and her is she and they follow each other through the swinging parties, the dancing, the fashion… until things go dark and we get introduced to our horror. Someone is murdered and the ghosts of the past (both literal and figurative) begin to break through to the present.

Ignoring the horror elements for a moment, this movie has a familiar post-logic reality to it, very similar to Edgar Wright’s own Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. But don’t confuse the two… Last Night in Soho is a very different side of cool. It’s a propulsive cool that really cooks, moves fast, dies young. It’s a brilliant vibe that switches lead actress in and out during scenes, in reflections, and during dance numbers. It’s virtuoso film making.

And when it turns into that horror and a murder mystery, it’s probably not as good but still a pretty effective ghost/supernatural story. We’re never quite sure how much of what we see is real and how much might be in her head. And it really does work – some of the imagery is chilling and frightening.

The movie is also a sleeper feminist horror flick. It does this not exactly through subtly but by just being what it’s about without raising a red flag or shooting off fireworks. Part of the horror of the film is seeing how groovy, swinging 60s can eat up a good time party girl. And maybe the greatest horror of all is our rose tinted glasses… imagining a nostalgic 60s without seeing the dark underbelly.

I really liked and almost loved this film. As a horror, it’s not quite there… but as a piece of amazing film making, of dipping the film in cool and vibrant propulsive editing and imagery, it’s pretty amazing.

Score: 88