[Review] The Latent Image is a Fantastic Gay Horror Short

“What If?” It’s a question a lot of gay people ask. What if that hot guy in the black leather jacket were gay and not straight? It’s also the title of the novel that Robert Walsh (Joshua Tonks) is pounding away at, trying to get out of writer’s block. As he types, movement happens outside. A loud noise. Sounds like a gun or a backfiring engine. 

Robert falls asleep at his typewriter and when he awakens, the door is open and a black leather jacket is lying on a couch. Next to it, The Man (Jay Clift), seemingly birthed into existence.

“I need bandages,” The Man says, drops of blood hitting his shoe. Robert races to the bathroom to find bandages and when he returns, The Man is passed out on the couch, naked save for a blanket draped across his midsection. 

“I thought I imagined you,” Robert tells The Man in the morning. But nope, he’s all real. But is he? The Man oozes sexuality and danger and as Robert digs into his guest’s story, he realizes he’s getting more than he bargained for. 

There’s a lot going on in director Alexander Birrell’s fantastic horror short. On the surface, there’s the push and pull of a creator, struggling with writer’s block who has seemingly written up a man with that crooked kind of smile. Underneath it, though, The Latent Image, written by Alexander Birrell and star Joshua Tonks, is a story about falling for that hot, dangerous straight man. It’s that “What If?” question brought to life and all the dangerous implications that can unfold.

What I enjoyed most about The Latent Image was the onscreen chemistry between the two leads. As they dance coyly around the subject of intimacy, Robert admits that he’s struggling with his antagonist. 

“That’s the bad guy, right?” The Man asks. And it’s a loaded statement, as Robert looks at The Man, eye to eye. “I like a mystery,” The Man coos, sexual tension exploding at the seams. 

As the brisk narrative unfolds, we start to see the written word affecting reality and vice versa in interesting ways. It’s a great horror short that Alexander is working on turning into a feature film and I think there’s enough meat here for a full course. I can’t wait to see what comes from it.