Why Last Night In Soho’s Reviews Are So Mixed

Ahead of its theatrical release, Last Night in Soho has already garnered mixed reviews. Directed by Edgar Wright, Last Night in Soho is a psychological horror film following Ellie Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) as she navigates a blend of present-day and 1960s London. Eventually, the line between reality and dreams becomes hazy when she finds herself staying in the body of her idol, aspiring singer Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy) more. Inevitably, both the past and the present break down horribly. 

The production for Last Night in Soho started in 2019, and since the film’s release date keeps getting rescheduled due to the pandemic, the hype continues to grow. After all, Edgar Wright has made quite a name for himself, with an impressive list of directorial credits, including Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Baby Driver. Last Night in Soho officially had its world premiere at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival in early September.

At the time of writing, Last Night in Soho holds a 72% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 120 reviews, with the audience score reaching 94%. This supports the critics’ consensus that the film “shows flashes of Edgar Wright at his most stylish and ambitious.” Echoing this sentiment, the film’s ability to provide a seamless and entertaining reliving of the 1960s is generally praised. Despite noticeable traces of influences from familiar narratives and other filmmakers, Wright’s work still manages to feel refreshing. In fact, some critics see Last Night in Soho as the template the next generation of storytellers will follow as they share their own alluring yet dangerous takes on the genre, attracting and haunting new audiences along the way. In addition, the excellent performance of McKenzie and Taylor-Joy provides another layer to this Giallo-inspired story. Here are some of the positive Last Night in Soho reviews:

The Wrap:

Much like his mentor, Quentin Tarantino, who gets a thanks in the closing credits but to whom the excellent soundtrack choices also owe a huge debt, Wright creates a faithful yet playful homage to a lost and legendary Swinging ’60s London that is hard to find these days but whose spirit remains vibrantly alive in movies, documentaries, photos, stories, a few buildings and, of course, hundreds of songs.

IGN Southeast Asia:

Last Night in Soho has more than enough momentum and visual flair to ensure that even its most familiar moments are never boring. 

The Guardian:

For all its perky retro-chic and caffeinated histrionics, Last Night in Soho carries an in-built note of poignancy in that it arrives at a time when the cherished 60s poster children – those cocksure angels of the future – are beginning to slip one-by-one off the map. 

Empire:

Wright’s ambition has always been his most commendable asset, and here, with his back turned to the buddy comedies of his past, is where it burns brightest, bringing a propulsive energy to this uncharted new territory. Last Night In Soho is indeed a departure for the filmmaker, but one that could pave the way for even more compelling, risk-taking work to come.

Metro:

The much-hyped movie and its exciting cast had a lot to live up to, but largely delivered on what was promised.

On the other hand, despite Wright bringing his filmmaking prowess and ingenuity, Last Night in Soho’s pacing and narrative coherence prevents itself from reaching cinematic perfection. Because of the interspersing of present-day events with 1960s ethereal episodes, the film tends to be repetitive, with its dialogue stating and restating events and its action never climaxing. Some reviews also note that Wright’s ambitious genre-bending never quite reaches expectations, thus undercutting the effort of the cast. Furthermore, for a film that seeks to expound on pressing issues, such as the correlation between misogyny and mental health, it barely scratches the surface and offers little to no deepening or education to the viewers. Here are more of the negative Last Night in Soho reviews:

NPR:

Edgar Wright set out to make a trippy fever-dream of a movie. Last Night in Soho, the film he has made instead, is merely febrile: insistent, overworked, maddeningly repetitive and — like the most intense fevers — by turns sweaty and chilly, and keenly unpleasant to experience.

EW:

​​Soho is one hell of a half of a movie: a wildly styled neon reverie whose spooky bedazzlement only crashes to earth when it succumbs to bog-standard horror in the final act.

Vanity Fair:

It’s unclear if Last Night in Soho is supposed to be a campy homage to past horror—with its Eyes of Laura Mars visions and Suspiria swirls—or if it’s meant as sobering social critique. Maybe it’s both? Either way, little of it works.

Roger Ebert:

Wright doesn’t have anything to say about the sex industry, the casting couch or mental health beyond a surface-level understanding. Instead, he relies on cornball humor, copious blood and gore, and homages to far better films. Normally that’d be enough, and it has been in the past, but the tonality doesn’t quite square with the film’s heavy subjects this time. 

Last Night in Soho has been one of the most talked-about films of 2021, being a standout horror among a flurry of superhero entries. Since the film is considered as one of Wright’s best works, the director’s fans will surely appreciate this masterpiece, no matter how mixed the critic reviews are. After all, Last Night in Soho still ignites curiosity and conversation, allowing the public to form their own opinion.

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