Last Night In Soho: Ending Explained

Last Night In Soho is a 2021 psychological-thriller horror film written and directed by the amazing Edgar Wright. The movie follows a young girl who moves from a small town to London to pursue Fashion Design, and every night, she is mysteriously transported to the 60s and lives the life of an aspiring singer, and things get pretty dark from there. The cast has Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy and Diana Rigg in leading roles. While the story is pretty simple, the ending leaves it open for speculation. Here’s the plot and ending of Last Night In Soho explained; spoilers ahead.

Contents

Here are links to the key aspects of the movie:

• – Plot Explained
• – Are the ghosts real, or is it all only in Eloise’s mind?
• – Who is Jack?
• – Who is Sandie? 
• – Who is Eloise?
• – Why does Eloise begin to experience Sandie’s life?
• – Who is the silver haired gentleman stalking Eloise? Is he Jack?
• – Ending Explained
• – Closing Scene Before The End Credits

Last Night In Soho: Plot Explained

One of the central questions the film presents is… 

Are the ghosts real, or is it all only in Eloise’s mind?

The film makes it abundantly clear that the ghosts do exist, and Eloise interacts with them. While not explained in detail, we’re shown that Eloise appears to have the power to interact with dead people. We see glimpses of Eloise’s mother at the beginning of the film, who is later disclosed to have died by committing suicide.

Who is Jack?

Jack was a sleaze bag who tricked young girls, making them believe he had fallen in love with them. In reality, he was a pimp who trapped young women into his prostitution ring whose clientele was rich old men. 

Last Night In Soho: Who is Sandie? 

Back in the 1960’s Sandie was a talented young woman who aspired to become a singer. Jack played her and promised to get her an audition to sing at a prominent club. But the role Sandie landed is that of a side dancer with no hope of making it to the spotlight.

Last Night In Soho: What happened to Sandie?

Sandie ended up becoming a prostitute because of Jack, and her hopes and dreams of becoming a singer and performer were shattered. She was disgusted by Jack and every other man who slept with her and sought revenge.

Last Night In Soho: Who killed Sandie?

No one killed Sandie. In fact, it is Sandie who killed men who paid to sleep with her and hid their dead bodies at her home; she killed Jack as well. Years pass by, but she’s never suspected of murder. Presently, Sandie goes by her official name Ms Collins who rents the upstairs of her home.

Who is Eloise?

Eloise is a young girl who moves to London to study Fashion Design. Disliking the company of the other girls in her dorm, Eloise rents a room advertised by Ms Collins (Sandie). Of course, at this point, neither Eloise nor the audience knows that Sandie and Ms Collins are the same people.

Why does Eloise begin to experience Sandie’s life?

Eloise can communicate with the dead, and being at a house with dozens of dead bodies makes Eloise experience the 60s through Sandie’s eyes. The dead are seeking help from Eloise as they are trapped in purgatory in Ms Sandie Collins’ home. 

In all honestly, the dead in this film really needed to get their act together for seeking help. Considering how they were creeping in on Eloise, it wasn’t surprising that Eloise didn’t get their true un-ghouly intentions. 

Initially, Eloise uses the dazzling Sandie as her inspiration and designs clothes that her teacher loves. But slowly, Eloise’s experiences turn dark and eventually, she sees a vision of Sandie being butchered by Jack. Poor John, the good chap who happens to be making out with Eloise at the time, is the recipient of her morbid episode and is driven out of the house by Ms Collins.

After this, Eloise begins to see faceless dead people throughout the day and has regular mental breakdowns. Like I said, the ghosts really messed up with their approach to ask for help.

Who is the silver haired gentleman stalking Eloise? Is he Jack?

The old man following Eloise is a cop named Lindsey, who once worked the red-light district. At one point, he approached Sandie and asked her to get out while she still could. Eloise mistakes the old man to be Jack, but Jack is long dead. When Eloise styles her hair and clothes to look like Sandie, Lindsey finds it extremely familiar and hence happens to follow Eloise. I know, it’s still creepy, cop or not.

Last Night In Soho: Ending Explained

The ending of Last Night In Soho reveals that Ms Collins is Sandie, who murdered all those men who paid to sleep with her back in the day. Because Eloise went to the police station and launched a complaint stating a young girl was murdered in the house years ago, Ms Collins figures that Eloise is better off dead and poisons her tea.

Unfortunately, the overuse of wood in the house and a poorly placed cigarette starts a fire while Ms Collins is busy trying to kill John, who’s come to check in on Eloise. The house is engulfed in flames, and old Ms Collins cannot get close enough to Eloise to stab her. The ghosts continue to spook the daylights out of Eloise and finally come forward, requesting for help by asking Eloise to kill Ms Collins and Eloise says, “no”. Ms Collins, who sees the dead people, reiterates to Eloise that those men deserved it and decides to burn along with the house and the bodies as Eloise and John are rescued by the fire department. 

Closing Scene Before The End Credits

Months later, Eloise presents her designs in front of an audience that includes her grandma and John. The closing scene just before the end credits of Last Night In Soho shows Eloise looking into the mirror to see Sandie blowing her a kiss. Eloise approaches the mirror with a sense of joy and interacts with Sandie. In my opinion, this is not Sandie’s ghost… read on.

In this film, all the ghosts appear in the form and age before they died. They also appear in the third person. For example, Eloise’s mother appears looking as old as she was when she died and shows up in the mirror behind Eloise. However, Sandie appears in the form of her young self and not the old lady, Ms Collins, who died in the burning house. Moreover, when Eloise approaches the mirror, we see that Sandie is her reflection. Eloise only lives Sandie’s life as part of the dreams at night. I believe this final scene shows that Eloise finds herself to be a lot like Sandie, a talented girl who has come to London to make it big. Sandie is her inspiration, and Eloise attributes her success to Sandie, who she imagines is in a happy place now.

That’s all folks. What did you think about the plot and ending of Last Night In Soho? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.