The Latent Image is to die for

29 Aug 2023 -

The Latent Image is a new thriller set in a gorgeous cabin in the woods. It’s about a mystery writer, isolated and blocked, struggling to write his new book on a manual typewriter. Suddenly, a mysterious man shows up. The writer is suspicious of the guy, who seems untrustworthy, but the writer also uses the dark nature of this stranger as inspiration for the villain in his novel. Soon, the two of them are acting all weird, spying on each other and acting out bizarre scenarios. So, is the stranger a killer? And is the writer the next victim?

As a thriller, The Latent Image is not bad. Even at its most preposterous it is still filled with tension and excitement. However, it’s one of those movies that just when it’s getting good, they cut to the guy waking up abruptly and it was all just a dream. I find that to be cheating on behalf of most filmmakers, although to be fair, this movie’s theme does seem to be about the craft of writing, so it’s sort of valid. 

If you don’t like the guys playing the writer and the stranger, at least you can fall in love with the cabin. It’s to die for, all blonde wood with a spiral staircase, twinkle lighting, and floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors. It’s easy to see why any killer would be attracted to it. 

Without giving away any juicy plot points, I will say that the movie does have a terrific ending, one that references its oblique title in a most satisfying fashion. The Latent Image was lots of fun for me to watch, as I always liked those two-guys-playing-cat-and-mouse movies like Sleuth and Deathtrap. And it helps that near the end, the stranger treats us to a very sufficient full frontal, and it is, well, to die for.