Ash (2025) - Film Review

      Ash, 2025.

      Directed by Flying Lotus.

      Featuring Eiza González, Aaron Paul, Iko Uwais, Kate Elliott, Beulah Koale, and Flying Lotus.

      SYNOPSIS:

      A woman awakens on a distant planet and discovers that her space station crew has been brutally killed. Her quest to uncover the truth triggers a horrifying sequence of events.

      Musician and director Flying Lotus appears to have a fondness for classic survival horror video games, as Ash closely follows this formula but ultimately comes across as sluggish and uninspiring. Eiza Gonzalez’s character, Riya, finds herself on a spaceship with no memory of why her crew is dead. The film occasionally includes graphic visuals, such as someone’s face melting (a striking visual effect), to set the tone, but most of it revolves around Riya wandering the ship in atmospheric blue and purple lighting, struggling to generate a genuinely frightening ambiance.

      Ash aims to capture the unsettling atmosphere of Dead Space (with several visual references that evoke this, not to mention the theme of being stranded on a spaceship on an unfamiliar planet while the protagonist grapples with amnesia) through the lens of Resident Evil, which is an enticing concept for a horror film. The problem, however, is that such games feature gameplay that breaks the tedium of navigating dark corridors while building the world through notes and audio logs.

      This doesn’t mean the film needed Riya to fight for her life against zombies or other monstrous entities, nor did it need her to solve bizarre puzzles typical of video games, but it certainly required something beyond a slow, uneventful investigation of the ship or vague explanations about their mission and the planet intended for colonization. Even the nonviolent flashbacks fail to offer intriguing insights about these characters, their relational dynamics, or their mission.

      One might expect that the story would become more engaging once Riya encounters Aaron Paul’s character, Brian, who had been observing her team from another vessel, recognized the chaos unfolding, and is now attempting to assist them in escaping. The issue lies in the screenplay by Jonni Remmler (which is already fairly predictable), leading to other foreseeable narrative paths. Gradually, Riya begins to regain her memories, some of which involve a somewhat thrilling confrontation with crew member Adhi (portrayed by the impressive Iko Uwais, ensuring the fight choreography is worthwhile), but Brian starts questioning whether such situations would be appropriate for her mental well-being and their escape strategy.

      This is compounded by the stiff performances, often making it seem like these otherwise skilled actors were schooled by whoever instructed those awkward portrayals in early 90s Capcom survival horror titles. The screenplay does not provide them much to work with, mainly consisting of repetitive dialogue that forces them to discuss nothing until the revelations arrive.

      The final 20 minutes deliver flashback violence and largely disappointing answers. To clarify, video games are not the sole medium from which Ash poorly draws inspiration. Flying Lotus seems at a loss on how to effectively utilize any of these influences.

      Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★

      Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He also serves as the Reviews Editor for Flickering Myth. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd.