Movie · 2021 · Horror, Mystery · 1h 57m · R · English
Curator score: 4.7/10 (1.2M ratings)
A murder in the past. A mystery in the future.
Overview
A young girl, passionate about fashion design, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters her idol, a dazzling wannabe singer. But 1960s London is not what it seems, and time seems to be falling apart with shady consequences.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.7/10
IMDb: 7.0/10
Letterboxd: 3.44/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 75%
Metacritic: 65
TMDB: 7.3/10
Director
Edgar Wright
Production
Focus Features, Film4 Productions, Working Title Films, Complete Fiction, Perfect World Pictures
Cast
Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Rita Tushingham, Michael Ajao, Synnøve Karlsen, Pauline McLynn, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg, Aimée Cassettari, Colin Mace, Jessie Mei Li, Kassius Nelson, Rebecca Harrod, Alan Mahon, Connor Calland, Josh Zaré, Jacqui-Lee Pryce, Elizabeth Berrington, James Phelps
Curator Review
Verdict
A stylish, uneasy mash-up of nostalgia, pop-art horror, and psychological unraveling. It’s not flawless, but the visual invention, performances, and mood make it an easy recommendation for viewers who like their genre films glossy, sad, and a little vicious.
Best for
fans of retro-styled horror and mystery
viewers who like fashion-forward visual design
people drawn to stories about nostalgia turning toxic
audiences who enjoy psychological horror with pop energy
Skip if
you want a tightly logical mystery
you dislike heightened style over realism
you prefer horror that stays purely scary rather than emotional
you’re allergic to melodrama or tonal swings
Overview
Edgar Wright takes a very different route here: less comic propulsion, more haunted atmosphere. The film is at its strongest when it uses 1960s London as a seductive trap, turning dream-logic glamour into something predatory and unstable. Thomasin McKenzie gives the story its fragile center, while Anya Taylor-Joy supplies the movie’s dangerous shimmer.
Worth noting
What lingers most is the film’s sense that longing itself can become a curse. The period detail, music cues, and mirror imagery are all doing real thematic work, not just decoration. Even when the script over-explains or the final stretch loses some bite, the movie keeps its grip through mood and visual confidence.
Bottom line
It’s a genre film with a very specific pulse: part coming-of-age fantasy, part ghost story, part warning about romanticizing the past. If you respond to films that are as interested in texture and emotional unease as they are in plot mechanics, this is well worth your time.
Top Letterboxd reviews
hollie amanda (4★) · 21817 likes
anya taylor-joy is the girl of your dreams? mine too bitch you’re not special
tyler (4★) · 13487 likes
this is crack for all you “i was born in the wrong generation” bitches
•lily• (1.5★) · 11382 likes
I’m just like eloise because i too am lonely and spend most of my time thinking about anya taylor joy
Patrick Willems · 10775 likes
What if nostalgia drove you insane and tried to kill you