Acclaimed writer and director Edgar Wright is back to the big screen with Last Night in Soho, a new psychological horror film slated to hit theaters in October 2021. On Tuesday, May 25, 2021, the film’s first teaser trailer dropped, giving moviegoers a feel for the film. Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, and more, the film promises to be thrilling and colorful, based on the trailer. There’s much left to the imagination based on the initial trailer, but it’s clear there’s a nuanced beat to the dreamlike suspense.
You're invited to a journey back in time. #LastNightInSoho pic.twitter.com/J4a7uCvJHK
— Last Night in Soho (@lastnightinsoho) May 25, 2021
What’s the Story?
Wright’s newest flick is based on a story he developed and co-wrote with Krysty Wilson-Cairnes. Last Night in Soho walks the line between historical and horror, featuring both a modern setting and a mysterious portal setting to London in 1966. Using these two settings, Last Night in Soho follows Eloise, played by McKenzie, an up-and-coming fashion designer who dreams up a version of the past in which she transforms into Sandie, a 1960s singer, played by Taylor-Joy. As Eloise continues dreaming, though, her reality and imagined past become disorienting and meld together, creating a hazy 1960s dreamscape in 2021. The conventions of Eloise’s 1960s world are mystifying, shrouded in spotlights and multi-colored sets. Much is still unknown about the film, but from the trailer alone, it’s clear Wright has intended a dreamlike horror-thriller, where both McKenzie and Taylor-Joy are given the opportunity to shine.
Director Edgar Wright speaks to Anya Taylor-Joy (Sandie). Image via Focus Features.
First Impressions
Last Night in Soho feels like an off-the-beaten-path pick for Wright. Following his last film, Baby Driver, which was released in 2017, Last Night in Soho is a completely different movie, maintaining only the vibrant colors and alluring music of Baby Driver and Wright’s past works. From its first moments, the trailer sparks dozens of questions: a silhouetted Taylor-Joy stands on a stage, a sparsely populated auditorium in front of her. The beehive hairstyle she sports makes it clear the film is set in the 1960s, but the lighting and density of the crowd raise feelings of discomfort over warmth. As the trailer goes on, McKenzie’s Eloise is shown to be a disconnected, even sad young woman, curling up in blankets with a look of dissatisfaction. It’s not until Eloise closes her eyes that she wakes up in a bright, 1960s nightscape and seems content, entering a nightclub and discovering herself to be Taylor-Joy’s Sandie.
The trailer explores Eloise’s double life, showcasing the dazzled curiosity of Eloise and the serene seduction of Sandie. Eloise becomes more obsessed with her dream life, from drawing Sandie’s outfit to imagining herself as Sandie. It’s not until Eloise wakes up with Sandie’s hairstyle that reality begins to shift. From following Sandie in the street to waking up in bed with a knife, Eloise’s reality becomes more chaotic as the trailer goes on. By the end, her eyes are rimmed with black face paint, creating an image hauntingly similar to a skeleton. The trailer ends with glass cracking as the title appears, and a fearful Eloise leaves the screen.
Last Night in Soho looks as thrilling and exhilarating as Wright promised, and by the looks of it, McKenzie and Taylor-Joy are a powerhouse duo.
Last Night in Soho hits theaters on October 22, 2021. Find more information here.
Featured Image via Focus Features.
