LIKES:
The Style: Like the poster and trailers, this film was hinted at being a stylish take on the horror genre, and it delivers this in so many ways. Wright leads a wonderful charge into two different time periods of London and make them look so dang fun and stylish to live in. There is energy from two different periods cascading into one story, pulling you into the story of this little play, working you into the life of our main character Ellie. Setting wise, it's an engaging piece that is realistic, dynamic, and engaging to the tale, with almost every place used well int eh story.
The Presentation: The premise as you can see in the trailer is that Ellie is drawn into the past to see and experience the life of Sandy. While this may not be the most unique story we've seen, Wright's style is super intriguing in the transitions, especially in the beginning with how she wound up in the world. The fun aspects of life we see involve some fun use of mirrors and switching perspectives to really get you into the feel, only to then drop us back into the real world moments later. Sandy's impact on Ellie is then later explored and seeing the effects were super fun, and even more so how the later aspects of Sandy's life really start to spring on Ellie. These moments are placed well, and each scene has a life of its own, but yet is integrated into the whole picture to never fell too tangential or overwhelming form how smooth the piece was. I was very surprised by these transitions, and how well used they were given the potential to overdo the gimmick.
The Acting: It's good, a fantastic display of quality acting in the genre where many just kind of bring their B and C game in most movies. Soho's group is strong across multiple fronts, and given the direction, character development, and chemistry was able to bring both worlds to life for me. Thomasin McKenzie is a wonderful lead, innocent and naïve, but holding much beneath the meek mannered persona she starts out with. As the movie continues on, she is pulled into other elements that require drastically going through the spectrum of emotions and bringing the terror out in this role. Anya Taylor-Joy is not quite as vocal or dynamic as McKenzie's role, but dang does she play the past role extraordinarily well in what she was told to do. I can't reveal much, but let's just say that she has a combination of confidence, sex appeal, and artistic presentation to bring the emotions of the 60s era to life. She bounces well in the scenes shared with McKenzie, and the looks she gives speak volumes over the dialogue that other characters were given in this film. Matt Smith has the looks of his counterparts super well, executing the cocky arrogance of the times to an artful degree, and adding the dramatic flair that ties things well together. His looks in the suits, alongside the nonverbal acting, speak volumes and establish the atmosphere he holds, and I can't deny that he elevated a lot of scenes in the beginning to drive the pace and story.
The Pace: A movie like this can be slow given all they try to do, but Soho did not feel long to me at all. Because of the ever changing nature of the film, the smoother transitions, and continued evolution of the mystery continued to move to the end. With little tangential detours and not trying to force messages and politics in my face, Soho managed to keep us on the story and lives of the character helping to move the film to its conclusion with steady steps.
The Characters: So nice to find a horror movie where the characters are much deeper than the usual fodder we get. Like the acting, the characters have a lot of layers and quirks to deal with, never being perfect or overpowered, but rather strong and persistent to overcoming their problems. McKenzie's journey was relevant to me on several elements, and I loved the approaches she took to figure out a lot of the happenings in the two "worlds." This is true for so many of the characters, many of which are used well to progress the story and actually not just be there to be an overdramatized statement. This is definitely true with the character John, who has a lot of great moments in the film without stealing the show the show away from the group. It was great planning and attention to detail that this genre needed very much for me, and I was happy that Soho delivered this.
The Music: Those who like the classics and appreciate the use of music should really enjoy the styles of this film and how much the music moves the scene. What is used for a character development in one scene, suddenly gets turned into a jaunty number of fun and 60s dazzle before dropping into a simple montage piece to express the emotions of Ellie. Other sequences have the setting amplified to wonderful levels, sometimes being creepier than the visual elements presented. And do not worry, Soho has a combination of modern vibes and big band fun to get you into the moment and I had a blast with it.
The Story/Genre: Again, the story is not the most unique or artistic thing I've seen, but what surprises me is how many genres were crammed into this movie. Soho is not simply a horror/thriller as the categories painted, but instead manages to add layers of other components into film to mix things up and help it stand out from most other films in these categories. There are elements of a comedy that work in just seeing Ellie experience life in London, but then drama comes in to help complicate matters and add a realistic portrayal that is not buried in cheesy scares. The drama further elevates in a different manner at parts of the movie, and soon a mystery starts to develop that soon starts to fold into something else. Crime and Thriller elements start to resonate even further, and soon the horror creeps in only for the other elements to peak back in and allow the other genres to rest. You would think it would be convoluted, but instead it's balanced and meshes well to make a twist on life that again is fun to watch and again interesting to solve all the deceptions hiding in the two worlds.
DISLIKES:
Character Utilization: While there are many characters used right, there are others that held more potential and sadly were cut from the final number. The past selves of a couple of the older characters held some potential to add to the mystery, but I can understand the reasons for their limited use. It's the mean girls that plague Emmie's life and I would have loved to see them integrated a little more in the push to get Emmie to continue diving into the world of the 60s London. It's a small complaint, and there are others I'd have liked to foster relationships with, but the stronger relationships work well for me.
The Seedier Moments: You can guess that Soho's neon lights are going to offer many a thrilling dazzle, and some of those moments are going to be portrayed to big details. While I don't suffer from this type of PTSD, I caution those who are sensitive to take heed at the detailed moments of abuse that will be present in this movie. I'm not big on these moments, and fortunately they are lighter, but it only takes one memorable scene to scar your mind so caution.
The Violent Moments: I can't say I really hated these moments, but a couple of the times that got intense crossed the border into savage territory. Again caution to the squeamish and the sensitive to noises because these moments are very loud and sort of hurt my ears as the chaos unfolded. Again, it's a minor dislike, but still one to watch for, alongside the flashing lights if prone to seizures/migraines from this aura.
The Ending To A Degree: When things finally come together, the ending act starts to fall and unravel, with the horror element sort of fizzing out for the dramatic part. I did not hate the ending at all, but after all the buildup, I feel the climactic moment took a direction I was hoping it wouldn't and gotten the true finish worthy of putting everything to a close It's got some symbolic finale with it, a nice job towards the style and character development, but it sort of trips at the end to stumble across the line. And yes, there is some predictability to it, which does lay the foundation for figuring out what will happen in that final moment. And even more so, the special connection Ellie has is left rather unexplained and convenient, and I would have liked that shock factor to have been that connection.
The Verdict: Soho was a stylish surprise for me, that tied back to the classic elements of the horror element and blends multiple genres to make an engaging story. With fun characters, intriguing premises, some realistic lifestyles, and two worlds to balance, Wright brings us a layered tale that should grab a lot of the attention for multiple audiences. Acting continues to shine and some of the characters allow our actors to spread their wings and take thing to deeper levels than the usual thriller/horror cast. A great moving piece with lots of visual and audio components to enjoy Soho has much to check out. True, the character utilization does require some work and tweaking, and there are some intense moments that could hit sensitive viewers, but the main weakness for me is the tripping of the final act to not deliver the full potential that was building up to it. Still, I had fun with this movie and encourage you to check it out if you get the chance in theaters.
My scores are: Drama/Horror/Mystery: 8.5 Movie Overall: 7.5.
The Style: Like the poster and trailers, this film was hinted at being a stylish take on the horror genre, and it delivers this in so many ways. Wright leads a wonderful charge into two different time periods of London and make them look so dang fun and stylish to live in. There is energy from two different periods cascading into one story, pulling you into the story of this little play, working you into the life of our main character Ellie. Setting wise, it's an engaging piece that is realistic, dynamic, and engaging to the tale, with almost every place used well int eh story.
The Presentation: The premise as you can see in the trailer is that Ellie is drawn into the past to see and experience the life of Sandy. While this may not be the most unique story we've seen, Wright's style is super intriguing in the transitions, especially in the beginning with how she wound up in the world. The fun aspects of life we see involve some fun use of mirrors and switching perspectives to really get you into the feel, only to then drop us back into the real world moments later. Sandy's impact on Ellie is then later explored and seeing the effects were super fun, and even more so how the later aspects of Sandy's life really start to spring on Ellie. These moments are placed well, and each scene has a life of its own, but yet is integrated into the whole picture to never fell too tangential or overwhelming form how smooth the piece was. I was very surprised by these transitions, and how well used they were given the potential to overdo the gimmick.
The Acting: It's good, a fantastic display of quality acting in the genre where many just kind of bring their B and C game in most movies. Soho's group is strong across multiple fronts, and given the direction, character development, and chemistry was able to bring both worlds to life for me. Thomasin McKenzie is a wonderful lead, innocent and naïve, but holding much beneath the meek mannered persona she starts out with. As the movie continues on, she is pulled into other elements that require drastically going through the spectrum of emotions and bringing the terror out in this role. Anya Taylor-Joy is not quite as vocal or dynamic as McKenzie's role, but dang does she play the past role extraordinarily well in what she was told to do. I can't reveal much, but let's just say that she has a combination of confidence, sex appeal, and artistic presentation to bring the emotions of the 60s era to life. She bounces well in the scenes shared with McKenzie, and the looks she gives speak volumes over the dialogue that other characters were given in this film. Matt Smith has the looks of his counterparts super well, executing the cocky arrogance of the times to an artful degree, and adding the dramatic flair that ties things well together. His looks in the suits, alongside the nonverbal acting, speak volumes and establish the atmosphere he holds, and I can't deny that he elevated a lot of scenes in the beginning to drive the pace and story.
The Pace: A movie like this can be slow given all they try to do, but Soho did not feel long to me at all. Because of the ever changing nature of the film, the smoother transitions, and continued evolution of the mystery continued to move to the end. With little tangential detours and not trying to force messages and politics in my face, Soho managed to keep us on the story and lives of the character helping to move the film to its conclusion with steady steps.
The Characters: So nice to find a horror movie where the characters are much deeper than the usual fodder we get. Like the acting, the characters have a lot of layers and quirks to deal with, never being perfect or overpowered, but rather strong and persistent to overcoming their problems. McKenzie's journey was relevant to me on several elements, and I loved the approaches she took to figure out a lot of the happenings in the two "worlds." This is true for so many of the characters, many of which are used well to progress the story and actually not just be there to be an overdramatized statement. This is definitely true with the character John, who has a lot of great moments in the film without stealing the show the show away from the group. It was great planning and attention to detail that this genre needed very much for me, and I was happy that Soho delivered this.
The Music: Those who like the classics and appreciate the use of music should really enjoy the styles of this film and how much the music moves the scene. What is used for a character development in one scene, suddenly gets turned into a jaunty number of fun and 60s dazzle before dropping into a simple montage piece to express the emotions of Ellie. Other sequences have the setting amplified to wonderful levels, sometimes being creepier than the visual elements presented. And do not worry, Soho has a combination of modern vibes and big band fun to get you into the moment and I had a blast with it.
The Story/Genre: Again, the story is not the most unique or artistic thing I've seen, but what surprises me is how many genres were crammed into this movie. Soho is not simply a horror/thriller as the categories painted, but instead manages to add layers of other components into film to mix things up and help it stand out from most other films in these categories. There are elements of a comedy that work in just seeing Ellie experience life in London, but then drama comes in to help complicate matters and add a realistic portrayal that is not buried in cheesy scares. The drama further elevates in a different manner at parts of the movie, and soon a mystery starts to develop that soon starts to fold into something else. Crime and Thriller elements start to resonate even further, and soon the horror creeps in only for the other elements to peak back in and allow the other genres to rest. You would think it would be convoluted, but instead it's balanced and meshes well to make a twist on life that again is fun to watch and again interesting to solve all the deceptions hiding in the two worlds.
DISLIKES:
Character Utilization: While there are many characters used right, there are others that held more potential and sadly were cut from the final number. The past selves of a couple of the older characters held some potential to add to the mystery, but I can understand the reasons for their limited use. It's the mean girls that plague Emmie's life and I would have loved to see them integrated a little more in the push to get Emmie to continue diving into the world of the 60s London. It's a small complaint, and there are others I'd have liked to foster relationships with, but the stronger relationships work well for me.
The Seedier Moments: You can guess that Soho's neon lights are going to offer many a thrilling dazzle, and some of those moments are going to be portrayed to big details. While I don't suffer from this type of PTSD, I caution those who are sensitive to take heed at the detailed moments of abuse that will be present in this movie. I'm not big on these moments, and fortunately they are lighter, but it only takes one memorable scene to scar your mind so caution.
The Violent Moments: I can't say I really hated these moments, but a couple of the times that got intense crossed the border into savage territory. Again caution to the squeamish and the sensitive to noises because these moments are very loud and sort of hurt my ears as the chaos unfolded. Again, it's a minor dislike, but still one to watch for, alongside the flashing lights if prone to seizures/migraines from this aura.
The Ending To A Degree: When things finally come together, the ending act starts to fall and unravel, with the horror element sort of fizzing out for the dramatic part. I did not hate the ending at all, but after all the buildup, I feel the climactic moment took a direction I was hoping it wouldn't and gotten the true finish worthy of putting everything to a close It's got some symbolic finale with it, a nice job towards the style and character development, but it sort of trips at the end to stumble across the line. And yes, there is some predictability to it, which does lay the foundation for figuring out what will happen in that final moment. And even more so, the special connection Ellie has is left rather unexplained and convenient, and I would have liked that shock factor to have been that connection.
The Verdict: Soho was a stylish surprise for me, that tied back to the classic elements of the horror element and blends multiple genres to make an engaging story. With fun characters, intriguing premises, some realistic lifestyles, and two worlds to balance, Wright brings us a layered tale that should grab a lot of the attention for multiple audiences. Acting continues to shine and some of the characters allow our actors to spread their wings and take thing to deeper levels than the usual thriller/horror cast. A great moving piece with lots of visual and audio components to enjoy Soho has much to check out. True, the character utilization does require some work and tweaking, and there are some intense moments that could hit sensitive viewers, but the main weakness for me is the tripping of the final act to not deliver the full potential that was building up to it. Still, I had fun with this movie and encourage you to check it out if you get the chance in theaters.
My scores are: Drama/Horror/Mystery: 8.5 Movie Overall: 7.5.