“Latency”: Another Messy Thriller About The Cruelty Of Technology | Review
The combination of technology – for example, augmented reality, gaming equipment, and, of course, artificial intelligence – can fit in wonderfully with horror films, especially when it comes to films in which technology gets out of control and wreaks havoc on the world. After seeing films about elevators, smart home systems, childish (“M3gan”) or sexy (“Subservience” with Megan Fox) robots that get out of control, autonomous vehicles, and a host of other objects, the question that arises is how we can be surprised again. And more importantly, if this technology can scare us on screen.
“Latency” takes it in some interesting directions, at least on paper. This is the case when the heroine is a professional gamer who also happens to suffer from Agoraphobia and several childhood traumas, and receives advanced equipment that can make her an even more successful gamer – if, of course, she manages to stay alive and not go wild from hallucinations and various jump scares that surround her. It’s a great idea that’s well executed in some aspects, but it gets lost as the film progresses, particularly in its incorporation of horror elements.
Is “Latency” worth dedicating an hour and a half to seeing the film? You’re welcome to read and decide for yourself.
What Is The Movie Latency About?
The first fact you need to know about “Latency” is that it’s a pretty minor film. It was released in June 2024 in the United States, mainly for home media, and got screenings in a very (very!) limited number of theaters, which explains the total revenue of just over $100,000.
At first, the film was initially marketed as “Hana’s Game,” with a customized poster, but later changed to “Latency,” a term every gamer should know. Latency, also known as “lag” or “ping”, is the tiny delay (of milliseconds, mostly) between the player’s input and the game’s response. We won’t be answering the main questions regarding the subject, like what is a good latency for gaming or what does low latency mean, mainly because we have no clue about such terms. However, this subject – as you can tell by the film’s movie – is relevant to the plot.
The plot of “Latency” revolves around a professional gamer named Hana, played by the stunning Sasha Luss. She is completely isolated in her dark house due to Agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder in which a person shows fear and avoids places, situations, or events that they feel will be difficult to escape from or get help from when needed. For a living, Hana is a gamer who does quality control for games and occasionally participates in competitions. She actually has just a single friend named Jen, played by TikTok star Alexis Ren.
One day, Hana receives a delivery – and shame on a delivery man will be the delivery man who won’t leave the package at the door when someone has Agoraphobia. In the box, there is an advanced technological device called “Omnia”, which she can try out before others. To the surprise of the pair of friends, this technology reads Hana’s thoughts through special headphones, undergoes training with Hana, and later translates her thoughts and instincts into actions on the computer screen: it can automatically type what she thinks about, shoot automatically in role-playing games, and so on. I am not a professional gamer, but I think it minimizes latency.
The only problem, as you may have already deduced if you’ve seen other movies that put technology at the center of them, is that this equipment creates a virtual reality, or rather an augmented reality, if I understand the terminology of this field. It doesn’t merely translate Hana’s thoughts; it also influences them. Hana doesn’t know the boundaries between reality and fiction, experiences unexplained events related to her past, sees her anxieties become more extreme, and faces many horror tropes.
Here is the trailer of “Latency”, also known as “Hana’s Game”:
When The Code Gets Too Messy
As a horror fan, I’ll almost always say “yes” when a movie veers into our favorite genre: after all, between us, a few supernatural events and a few jump scares are enough to qualify a film as having horror elements. My expectations in this regard are low because I’m easy to please. Damn, give me a few seconds of broccoli getting out of control and slicing a carrot during a recipe show, and I’ll be delighted.
“Latency” does this too, and that’s the good news. The bad news is that many of the scary elements are ineffective, repetitive, and fail to connect to the overall theme. So it’s true that there are some reasonable jump scares here, but films of this type should sit the viewer tighter in their seats as the film progresses to its climax, and here I think the opposite happened.
The result is that the film, which starts very well overall and gains speed, eventually loses control. The scenes that are supposed to build tension or horror begin to repeat themselves, the plot raises more questions than it provides answers, and the film tries to escape into too many topics that are superficially addressed: trauma, loss of parents, mental illness, technology, fear, uncertainty, and imagination are just some of the issues that try to connect, not always with great success.
I was missing some trash, as well as cultural references and cinematic quotes that could add value. If you will, like Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One,” which also deals with a gamer who loses himself in a virtual reality world, managed to reference about 100 films, including horror films and characters from the scary catalog such as “Child’s Play,” “Alien,” “The Shining,” “The Fly,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” and others.
As befits the current point in time, it is clear that the most relevant issue here is the takeover of our lives by technology, which here takes on a tangible dimension. The film explores the connection between biology and technology, highlighting the benefits of relying on technology (such as winning a computer tournament loaded with prizes), but it also comes at a price. It’s hard for me to say that anything in the film’s messages was new to me, but as a fan of horror and science fiction films that focus on technology, there was enough here to satisfy me in that respect. The main character’s dilemmas were somewhat underdeveloped, as was her connection to her current mental state and background.
Without spoilers, the film doesn’t really explain to us what causes the heroine’s behavior and the actions she takes. Not only at the plot level, but also the tone and the messages we receive beyond. It’s clear that the film is trying to criticize something, but what exactly? Artificial intelligence? Video games? Internet influencers? Greedy corporations? Messengers? Food deliveries? Or in general mental illnesses, of which technology is only an expression or trigger?
Minimum Characters, Maximum Beauty
One of the most essential things in films of this type is to approach it with the right expectations, which don’t have to be high in cases like this. A movie with basically two actresses must deliver convincing acting performances under the challenging conditions of one location and the absence of supporting characters.
Sasha Luss has to carry the film on her shoulders, and the Russian actress-model does a decent job. Luss, who has modeled for several international brands and starred in sexy calendars, burst onto the cinematic scene in Luc Besson’s enjoyable “Anna” as a model who reverts to becoming a KGB assassin and sleeps with every man she meets. She’s starred in films like “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Stars,” “The Greatest Showman,” most recently “Depravity,” and even survived a Kanye West music video.
In “Latency,” she shows some charisma and even a sense of humor, but occasionally falls into the traps of the script. Some of her scenes tend to be overacted in terms of hand gestures and facial expressions, primarily because this is how you can express emotion when she’s mostly alone in the frame (don’t worry, she also talks to herself enough). My feeling was that Luss also gets lost as the film progresses, but it’s still a performance that goes far beyond just “eye candy,” as some critics noted after her role in “Anna.”
The Social Media Hit Girl Hits The Screen
Alexis Ren, a well-known social media personality, plays Hannah’s best (and only) friend. Since I’m not familiar with too many social media celebrities until they hit the big or small screen – and preferably the horror genre – I took the liberty of doing some professional research. Ren has something like 17 million followers on Instagram and over 13 million likes on TikTok. When examining these profiles for…um…professional investigation, one can perhaps understand why (for better or worse), with many photos in swimsuits and sexy clothing (I think there are here and there, to some extent, and sometimes, maybe some people who follow her because of this fact). It perhaps connects to the fact that she started modeling at the age of 13, became an online phenomenon thanks to a photo of herself in a bikini at the age of 15 (!), was the cover girl of the magazines “Maxim” and “Sports Illustrated”, and a few other titles that show that she probably has good genes.
Adding social media personalities to the cast of a low-budget film may be a necessary step to attract young viewers, create some buzz, or simply because this celebrity has appeal, chram, and charisma – for example, we saw the web personality, singer, and model Addison Rae with her 88 million TikTok followers and 34 million followers doing a pretty good job in Eli Roth’s “Thanksgiving.” In the case of “Latency” (and “Thanksgiving,” for that matter), the film does not play on the sexuality of its stars, except for a few shots showing off Lush’s well-toned body during a body-shaping workout.
Alexis Ren, in her second serious film appearance (after “The Enforcer” with Antonio Banderas), appears in a somewhat ambiguous role. She stated that initially, she didn’t think she was interested in making a horror film, but she eventually realized there was depth and relevant issues here, so she went ahead with it. Here she is mostly convincing as the young, light-hearted, and cynical friend. The problem is that for various reasons, her character doesn’t get enough screen time in the later parts of the film, and what was built as an interesting character is lost before we even get to see her in another swimsuit (seriously, have you noticed how many followers she has online?).
Not A Cinematic Mess, But A Few Misses All Around
A name you may not know yet is director and screenwriter James Croke, who is actually directing his first full-length film. On the positive side, we see a lot of impressive technical work in building the heroine’s narrow world (for example, in the excellent opening scene), the visual representations of some of the monsters and the particular transformation that the character undergoes, with some beautiful makeup work, around the change that the heroine undergoes (mainly in short scenes, don’t worry. It’s not “The Substance” here) or the creatures she encounters. We see the difficulty of the single location, especially when this location is a rather dim and very boring-looking apartment. Still, Croke managed to deal with it in some cases thanks to the right choice of camera angles and compositions.
On the other hand, the director’s inexperience was evident in the fact that the film failed to establish a clear style or direction. I came across debut works by creators who have accumulated a wealth of ideas over the years and attempt to incorporate them into a single piece of art, despite lacking the skills and experience to bring everything together. This film falls into that category.
Should You Watch Latency?
“Latency” is an interesting film, featuring young and attractive actresses in the main (and only) roles, along with some relevant ideas and a few scenes that might make you jump or get excited. On the other hand, it is also too messy. The horror in it only partially connects, and some scenes will force you to jump high in order not to fall into the big holes they create in the script. The 90 minutes of the film feel a little longer due to the isolated location, the small number of characters, the dry dialogues, and the lack of elements that will keep us glued to our seats, especially in the second part of the film, where it loses height and almost crashes.
It is difficult to recommend the film as a must-watch for apparent reasons. As a “watch and forget” movie at night, especially if you’re like evil technology movies, it could be a good choice.
Latency / Hana’s Game (2024) – Frequently Asked Questions
Who directed Latency?
The director of the film is James Croke, in his first feature film.
Who plays in Latency?
The film cast is very minimal, with Sasha Luss in the leading role and TikTok star Alexis Ren as her only friend. There are a few more names, in pretty small roles, like Robert Coleby.
Who wrote Latency?
Director James Crook is also responsible for the script.
How long is Latency?
The length of the film is about 94 minutes.
Where was the movie filmed?
In the United States and Thailand.
What languages can we hear in the film?
English, Artificial Intelligence.
When was Latency released to theaters?
The movie appeared in a minimal number of cinemas across the globe. The official release date on many of them was August 28, 2025.
What was the budget of the film?
We don’t have information about the budget of the film. However, it is undoubtedly very low.
How much did Latency gross?
Approximately $106,000, mainly because it is a small movie, meant for streaming.
What do the reviews say about Latency?
The reviews of Latency average at best, and are mostly negative. It has a 4.2 rating on IMDB. On Rotten Tomatoes, about 28% of the critics gave it a positive review (Tomatometer).
What is the content rating of Latency (Parents Guide)?
The movie is rated PG-13 for strong language, violent content, and terror.
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