I Watched “Latency” And Now I Cannot Sleep
In case you missed it, the sci-fi thriller Latency will be in select theaters June 14. I got my hands on an early screener and made the horrible mistake of watching it on a night when I was home alone.
It was late. I was spooked. I’ve now been awake for three weeks. Lionsgate
Let me tell you some of what happens, but without spoilers because you should see it for yourself. The film stars Sasha Luss as Hana, a “has been” pro gamer with acute agoraphobia
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Hana "escapes" the confines of her apartment by playing lots of video games, including virtual reality ones.
This, of course, will not end well. Lionsgate
Hana’s best friend and enduring support figure, Jen (played by Alexis Ren) is the only other person we properly meet.
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Side note: the film is being released by Lionsgate, who also did Fall, a film that caused me to drop my popcorn on the floor in fright. I’m telling you because even though they are so different, there are some eerie similarities between the two movies.
You’ll know when you see it. Lionsgate
In Latency, Hana gets her hands on a new, unreleased technology called OMNIA. It’s some kind of electro-encephalography device that uses neuro imaging to read her thoughts before she’s even aware of them, and it can tap into every device in her home.
As a video game controller it reduces her reaction time to zero. So, Hana is of course very excited about this...
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...but Jen is already worried and so am I.
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Unfortunately, the device starts intruding on Hana's actual thoughts in a variety of terrifying ways.
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Without giving too much away, the line between Hana’s reality and imagination starts to blur as a parade of horrors pass through Hana’s apartment, eventually forcing her out of it.
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There are twists right up until the final moment, and to be honest I’m still not sure whether what happened at the end of the movie was real or if the OMNIA sucked me into Hana’s brain.
But here’s the thing - it’s not just a movie. This kind of technology is closer to reality than many of us realize. Which means the line between reality and potentially horrifying fiction is about to get way blurrier.
Add AI to the mix and lord, we’re in for a ride. Lionsgate