ASH

(director: Flying Lotus; screenwriter: Jonni Remmier; cinematographer: Richard Bluck; editor: Bryan Shaw; music: Flying Lotus; cast: Eiza Gonzalez (Riya), Aaron Paul  (Brion), Iko Uwais (Adhi), Beulah Koale (Kevin), Flying Lotus (Davis), Kate Elliott (Clarke); Runtime: 95; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Matthew Metcalfe, Nate Bolotin; RLJE Films / Shudder; 2025-in English & Japanese)

“Its technical feats are most admirable.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A low-budget atmospheric space odyssey film artfully directed by the visionary musical composer Flying Lotus (“Kuso”) and adeptly written by Jonni Remmier. Its technical feats are most admirable, while its slight story holds up mostly because it gets a star performance from its lead actress.

The astronaut Riya (Eiza Gonzalez) wakes up alone, bloodied and disorientated with no memory of who she is on the distant planet Ash’s futuristic space station. She has no clue on how she got there, and is shocked her crew has been slaughtered.

The planet is a barren wasteland, where the sky looks as if painted with psychedelic ash images. It’s a dreary place where it always rains, and is not fit for human habitation. 

We get filled in on what happened to Riya with numerous flashbacks.

Eiza Gonzalez turns in a mesmerizing performance as a survivor living in terror while trying to suss out what to do to get by in such a harsh place.

In the flashbacks to the ill-fated crew, Aaron Paul gives a solid portrayal as the radio operator Brion, showing us his tense relationship with Riya. But few other characters in the crew are that clearly fleshed out.

It’s a strange and bold sci-fi horror pic that tells its nightmare story as unpleasantly as it needs to, without giving a damn if its visions are upsetting.

It played at the SXSW Film Festival.

REVIEWED ON 3/24/2025  GRADE: B+
dennisschwartzreviews.com