2024, 90 mins
M (Mature themes, horror themes, violence and coarse language)
Stars Sasha Luss, Alexis Ren
Directed by James Croke
A great premise and striking visual style elevate what is ultimately a frustrating and not fully-realised horror thriller. Latency is one of those films that starts out brilliantly and hooks you in, but then sadly doesn’t really go anywhere with its premise. Still, there’s a lot to like in Australian writer/director James Croke’s debut feature.
Sasha Luss stars as agoraphobic game tester Hana, housebound for almost all of her life, thanks to an overprotective mother, with gaming the only thing she lives for. Rejecting almost all human contact, the only person she has face-to-face interactions with inside her sprawling apartment is her supportive friend Jen (Alexis Ren).
One day, Hana is sent a delivery of a new piece of gaming hardware known as Omnia, which promises to directly connect with the user’s brain and be able to “read your thoughts before you’ve even had them”. But the initial elation of this new tech soon gives way to paranoia and terror as the power Omnia has over Hana’s mind seems to be growing stronger by the minute, making her question her reality at every turn, and leading to an increasingly freakish set of events, with Omnia scarily playing on Hana’s anxieties and eventually controlling her entire world.
Latency kicks off superbly with its early use of the iconic Tetris theme incorporated into the score, and Luss giving a likeable and sympathetic performance. The main issue with the film is that it really doesn’t do much with its central premise and Croke is not able to make Hana’s interactions with Omnia as visually interesting and dramatic as you would hope.
That’s not to say there aren’t some brilliant visuals to be found here, especially one amazing shot towards the end, it’s just that the middle section of the film feels a bit plodding and repetitive as we head towards a fairly predictable conclusion.
While there are some issues with the script, Croke’s direction is excellent and given what he was able to do on a limited budget here, it will be interesting to see what he could do with a better script and a bigger budget.
Added to the visuals is great sound design, which might actually be the most memorable part of Latency, with some truly unsettling sound effects and an excellent, intense music score by Justin Katz, which feels right out of a modern video game.
There is a lot to like about Latency, and there are the seeds of a great movie here, but this just didn’t come together like you’d hope.
If you’re a gaming fan, Latency is worth logging on for, but there are definitely a few bugs to grind through to get to the conclusion.
TINSEL and TAP SHOES 