“Last Night in Soho” is a new psychological horror film by Edgar Wright. In the film stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie.
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the new film.
- Last Night in Soho is a 2021 British psychological horror film
- It is directed by Edgar Wright
- With a screenplay by Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
- From a story by Wright
- The film stars Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Diana Rigg and Terence Stamp
- The film marks the final film appearances of Rigg and Margaret Nolan
- They both died in 2020
- Last Night in Soho had its premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2021
- It was released in the United Kingdom and the United States on 29 October 2021 by Universal Pictures and Focus Features
- It received generally positive reviews from critics
- Critics praised the production design, cinematography and performances
- Though the screenplay received some criticism
- In January 2019, Edgar Wright said he would next work on a London-set psychological horror film co-written by Krysty Wilson-Cairns
- The film is said to be inspired by British horror films such as Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now and Roman Polanski’s Repulsion
- Wth Wright mentioning the use of time travel
- Last Night in Soho was originally titled Red Light Area and then The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
- The title originates from a 1968 hit single by the English pop band Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich and a conversation Wright had with filmmaker Quentin Tarantino
- Originally, Wright wanted the 1960’s scenes to have no dialogue or only be accompanied by music, “that they should be like dreams”
- Wilson-Cairns suggested the character of Sandie have dialogue, saying: “We have to fall in love with Sandie. And I think it’s difficult to fall in love with Sandie if she doesn’t say anything”
- Wright became aware of Anya Taylor-Joy when he served as a member of the U.S. Dramatic Jury at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, where The Witch premiered
- He met Taylor-Joy in Los Angeles shortly afterward, at which point he pitched her the story for Last Night in Soho
- He initially had Taylor-Joy in mind for the role of Eloise but later came around to the idea of her playing Sandie, and she agreed after reading a draft of the script
- Taylor-Joy’s casting was announced in February 2019
- Thomasin McKenzie and Matt Smith were cast shortly thereafter
- McKenzie got Wright’s attention with her “naturalistic performance” in the film Leave No Trace
- Diana Rigg, Terence Stamp, Rita Tushingham, Michael Ajao and Synnøve Karlsen rounded out the rest of the cast in June
- Rigg died shortly after production ended, making Last Night in Soho her last film role
- Wright said that he was filming with Rigg “right up until the end,” describing working with her as “a beautiful experience”
- It is also the last film appearance of Margaret Nolan, who died in October 2020
- Filming began on 23 May 2019
- Production wrapped 30 August 2019
- Wright posted several photos on his Instagram account showing that additional filming had commenced on 24 June 2020
- And concluded on 5 August 2020
- Some of the songs inspired sequences in the film
- When Wright heard a cover version of “Wade In The Water” by the Graham Bond Organisation, he “would just start imagining that first dream”
- Cilla Black’s “You’re My World” with its dramatic strings conjured up “the sort of the tone and the mood”
- Most of the songs selected were from the 1960s
- Wright also chose 1980’s “Happy House” by Siouxsie and the Banshees, because “the production on that song is incredible” and it fits a “scene in the movie where they are at a student union Halloween dance”
- Wright also said: “I like songs that become famous in a different realm. Like we use “Got My Mind Set on You” the original by James Ray, which most people know as the George Harrison cover. And a lot of people know “Happy House” because the Weeknd sampled it”
- Taylor-Joy performed “Downtown” by Petula Clark in the film
- The soundtrack was released on double vinyl
- In the United States and Canada, Last Night in Soho was released alongside Antlers and the expansion of The French Dispatch
- It is projected to gross around $5 million from 3,016 cinemas in its opening weekend
- The film made $1.9 million on its first day
- The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 73% rating
- Based on 197 reviews
- With an average rating of 6.8/10
- The site states “Although it struggles to maintain its thrilling early momentum, Last Night in Soho shows flashes of Edgar Wright at his most stylish and ambitious.”
- On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100
- Based on 47 critics
- Indicating “generally favorable reviews”
- Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “B+” on an A+ to F scale
- While those at PostTrak gave it a 73% positive score
- With 56% saying they would definitely recommend it
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