Written by Edgar Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Directed by Edgar Wright
Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Terence Stamp and Diana Rigg
UK
Writer/director Edgar Wright returns to the horror genre for the first time since his horror comedy debut, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, which helped usher in the recent zombie craze. I guess you could say there are horror elements in HOT FUZZ, which is mostly an action movie, and THE WORLD’S END, which is mostly a disappointment, but this is his first supernatural flick since the beginning.
This is the tale of a young girl from a small rural town who idolizes the swingin’ 60s and heads to when she’s accepted to fashion design school. We learn her mother was also into fashion, but had mental problems and eventually killed herself, so early on we’re a little worried – especially after she doesn’t adjust well to her dorm situation.
But, she gets her own apartment in Soho and things start to look up when suddenly she experiences weird dreams where she’s seemingly transported to the 60s London she loves, living the life of a glamorous aspiring singer. At first these nightly trips into her life are fun and romantic, but soon they take a grim turn when it turns out the swingin’ 60s weren’t necessarily so great after all, especially when it comes to slimy guys taking advantage of and exploiting women.
Like most Wright flicks this one moves along with a satisfying beat, punctuated with great tunes and even greater images. There were moments early on when I wondered if this could really even be best picture type material. But then the horror story develops – along with the grim turn her 60s adventures take, creepy ghosts seem to bleed over into her real life and start menacing her. She tries to look into what may have happened to the woman whose life she’s experiencing in her time traveling dreams, and starts to unravel a mystery… etc.
Ultimately the final act where we find out what’s going on is the least satisfying part of the whole movie. Spoilers: we do get a happy ending, which I liked, because, to be honest, early on in the film, I was pretty wrapped up in this woman’s non-supernatural life, and could have probably watched an entire film about her going to design school without all the ghosts and been pretty happy with it. But, that’s not the movie we got. It’s crazy because the ghost stuff is actually creepy and good – it just doesn’t really resolve in a satisfying way.
It is important to note, though, that this may be the only movie ever made that features The Who’s cover of Heatwave. So it has that going for it. Which is nice.
No comments:
Post a Comment