Latency (2024)
A young woman with notoriety as a game tester and professional gamer is gifted a new headset that syncs with her brain and brings painful memories to life.
“Latency” Plot Summary
Hana has agoraphobia, but thankfully, between being a game tester and a professional gamer, she can make ends meet from her apartment. Add in her best friend, potentially her girlfriend Jenn, getting groceries, taking out trash, and more, and while her life wasn’t perfect, it was livable.
Enter the CNEX Omnia, a new device that syncs with a person’s brain and all the devices it can, which initially seemed cool. However, as it appears that it is not the tool but that Hana is the tool for it, what was her safe and comfortable home becomes a cage that she increasingly wants to escape from.
Cast and Character Guide
| Character’s Name | Actor’s Name |
| Hana | Sasha Luss |
| Jenn | Alexis Ren |
| Omnia (Voice) | Chloe Schwank |
Hana
Hana is a game tester and a professional gamer. However, she is considered a has-been by Jen, playfully. In addition, she has agoraphobia, which she inherited from her mother. As for her father? He was in her life at one time and even took her outside the apartment when she was a kid, but unfortunately, he isn’t around anymore.
- The actor is also known for their role in “Sheroes.”
Jenn
Jen is Hana’s best friend and possible girlfriend, who helps keep Hana’s apartment from being filled with trash, having an empty fridge, or her running out of Red Bull.
Omnia
Omnia is the latest technology from the CNEX company, which, over 11 stages, syncs with its user and the devices within their network to the point its user doesn’t need to touch a device; just think, and Omnia handles the rest.
Additional Information
- Movies Similar To This:
- The Peripheral (In a new sci-fi production from the producers of “Westworld,” past and present seem to collide, all thanks to the next generation of virtual reality technology.)
- Margaux (While “Margaux” has visual effects not up to the grade you might be used to, the cast and story will keep you around until the end.)
Content Information
- Dialog: Cursing
- Violence: Gun Violence, Blood, Self-Harm
- Sexual Content: Sexual Situations (Implied)
- Miscellaneous: Depiction of Corpses
Review
Our Rating: Mixed (Divisive)
Good If You Like
- Small cast, limited set movies
- Psychological films
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Highlights
The Horror/ Psychological Element
While virtual reality hasn’t kicked off to the levels we’ve seen in anime like “Sword Art Online,” it has progressed as various technologies are dedicated to connecting neurology to technology. The combination, at its worst, is seen through “Latency.” Imagine a device and its software, whether complex AI or just a learning software, not only learning your habits but being able to link to a brain, tap into memories and fears, and manipulate them?
As we watch Hana go from having fun, even teasing Jen about having this fancy new tech, to seeing visions of a child, another ghostly figure, and hearing them, and reality and fantasy blurring, that is when the fun times start to end. Then add that Hana has some stereotypical gamer issues like living off Red Bull and terrible sleeping habits, which makes it so you don’t know where the visions are coming from between Omnia and lack of sleep.
The combination makes for a film that may not cause a sense of fear, but you can see the vision, you can understand the idea, and it can make you appreciate the concept.
On The Fence
Wishing The Emotional Attachment Was Stronger
In “Latency,” we are faced with Hana’s illness regarding agoraphobia, her issues with her mother, her dad’s absence, and her trying to maintain her relationship with Jen. A lot is going on with very few people involved. Yet, despite how these relationships play into the burgeoning madness in “Latency,” they aren’t tapped into in such a way to drive a personal investment.
It is all very much; you recognize the importance on the page, but it isn’t felt. Hana’s mom did a number on her, but beyond some sense of horror, there isn’t a push to get you to understand the mom’s mental illness. There is a close relationship with Jen, but whether they are girlfriends or girlfriends is hard to say. It’s a struggle to know the draw beyond a mutual interest in gaming, since Hana seems to benefit from the relationship far more than Jen.
Then, throw in Hana’s dad, who is barely present enough for us to get to know, and you see either missed opportunities or underdevelopment, which could have made Hana’s visions far more impactful both for the horror and the potential drama element.
General Information
| Film Length | 1 Hour 34 Minutes |
| Date Released | June 14, 2024 |
| How To Watch | Theatrical |
| Distributor | Lionsgate Films |
| Director(s) | James Croke |
| Writer(s) | James Croke |
| Based On Work By | N/A |
| Genre(s) | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Young Adult |
| Content Rating | Rated PG-13 |
Ending Spoilers
How Does It End?
Due to Hana’s hallucinations, she goes weeks, perhaps longer, without maintaining her apartment, and to make matters worse, between her visions of seeing her younger self and a version of her mom, she develops psychosis. This leads to her killing Jen, putting her in the bathtub, and Omnia seemingly hiding from Hana the truth about how bad her apartment is getting, the smell of Jen and the dishes piling up, and the only thing that seemingly stops the loop is Hana having a rare moment of breaking the fantasy.
However, even at that moment, she can’t take Omnia off, and even when pushing past her agoraphobia to get out of her apartment and try to run into Jen’s, she just ends up back on her own. This makes things so that Hana doesn’t truly get free of the Omnia until her landlord calls the cops, and they bust in, discover Jen, and arrest Hana.
Is There Sequel Or Prequel Potential?
This definitely could use a prequel to answer all the questions regarding Jen’s mom developing agoraphobia, how her dad met her mom, and also what happened to him.
