Edgar Wright‘s latest offering, Last Night in Soho, struggles to keep up with the pace of its excellent first half, delivering substandard scares in the second act.

Wright, known for having written and directed action comedies such as Hot Fuzz and Baby Driver, brings his singular style and eye to a psychological horror based in both the present day and 1960s London.

The first hour of the film expertly sets the scene for the horror to come, but unfortunately the high expectations then falter as the second act fails to deliver.

Spoilers to follow.

Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) is a swinging 60s obsessed young woman from Cornwall with dreams of studying fashion design in the big city.

After arriving at a fashion college, she finds her small-town charm does not fit in with the wealth and elitist mentality of the other students.

She decides to leave student housing to rent a room in an old home with an elderly female landlord, a decision she thinks will make her safer.

Little does she know her room will soon turn her dreams into nightmares.

Upon falling asleep in her room, Eloise discovers she has a psychic link with a woman named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy) – a young starlet trying to stand up against misogynist showbusiness tropes in the 1960s.

Eloise is both an observer and an embodiment of Sandie, left to watch her navigate business meetings and social situations while being trapped in the void of her dream-state.

Initially, it is exciting to see the rise of Sandie – an impossibly confident and elegant singer who informs Eloise’s fashion choices (both personally and in her studies).

The first few nights of this dream expedition through time are full of bright and bold scenes with loudly choreographed dance sequences and impressive camera trickery.

It is Eloise’s waking dream come true, getting to experience the 60s with none of the downsides.

But alas, Sandie is taken advantage of by dashing manager Jack (Matt Smith), who sees her more as a sex worker than the next Cilla Black.

Eloise is forced to live out the nightmare of Sandie’s life as both women’s dreams are shattered at once.

With the spectre of sleep a constant fear, Eloise begins to blur the lines between her life and Sandie’s, never quite knowing which one she is currently inhabiting.

Shocks abound as Wright transforms a hopeful narrative of girl-against-the-world into one of pure horror.

Eloise and Sandie are both forced to confront their demons, haunting each other and themselves despite living 50 years apart.The film’s conclusion is

disappointing, as if Wright had written himself into a corner from which he could not escape.

The intention was clearly to make certain societal points of the ills in showbusiness and the danger for young women in big cities, but none of them fully hit home.

Though linked tenuously by the increasing terror of the film’s midpoint, Last Night in Soho feels too much like 2 different films smashed together.

Both would be enjoyable individually, but together they only offer a jarring viewer experience which was obviously intentional, but fell flat nonetheless.

You will feel like Eloise, trapped as an observer and left hoping for something more because of the initial expectations.

The real horror of the film is what could have been.

Still, Last Night in Soho is worth the watch, just do not expect to be scared out of your seat.

Rated 16, scenes of violence, horror, strong language, sex and substance abuse.

3/5