Ash (2025) is directed by Flying Lotus and written by Jonni Remmler. It stars Eiza Gonzalez, Aaron Paul, Iko Uwais, Kate Elliot, Beulah Koale, Flying Lotus, and Andrew B. Miller. The film follows Riya (Gonzalez), a woman who wakes up on a mysterious planet to find her crew brutally murdered, with no memory of what happened. Eventually, she reunites with Brion (Paul), the only other crew member who survived. As tension and distrust grow, the two learn that their base has been damaged and is rapidly losing oxygen. To escape the planet before it’s too late, Riya and Brion are forced to set aside their differences, but the situation becomes even more complicated when they begin to suspect that someone or something else is lurking in the shadows. 

Eiza Gonzalez is more than capable during the film’s physical, action-oriented sequences; unfortunately, she’s notably awkward during her character’s lighter moments. That being said, her character is in peril for most of the film, which is more fitting for her skill set as a performer. Aaron Paul as her co-lead is well-cast, but nothing he does here is particularly new. The film keeps these two characters a mystery throughout most of the film. This leaves little opportunity to flesh them out on a deeper level, but the tension and intrigue it creates more than makes up for this lack of characterization. There is some backstory related to Riya’s flirtatious relationship with the crew’s captain (Uwais), but it never amounts to anything by the end of the film.

Even though I’ve seen this setup before, the mystery is compelling, and answers are rolled out at an engaging pace. There’s heavy inspiration from films such as Alien (1979) & Event Horizon (1997), which is somewhat fun but a bit too heavy-handed for my taste. Especially in the final 30 minutes, several clichés rear their ugly heads. A parasitic alien has taken over? I haven’t seen that 100 times before. Oh, wait, I have. The Lovecraftian element gives it a little bit of flavor, but the creature’s motivation essentially boils down to “humans are self-destructive and thus need to DIE!” Can’t we just get a classic “We want to feast on your insert preferred organ here!” motivation? At least that has some visceral flavor. 

This climax also contains a lot of things that go downright unexplained, but not in the compelling kind of way. Thankfully, the visuals, especially the body horror sequences, look effectively nasty despite the film’s clearly limited budget. Practical effects are enhanced by CGI, maximizing the quality of these visuals. Big-budget films need to take note; the formula for quality visuals is right in front of their face. What a bunch of boneheads. 

Overall, this is a perfectly serviceable sci-fi horror film despite its lack of originality. It’s the kind of thing I’d tentatively recommend to people who enjoy this specific genre, but never anyone else. At a tight 95 minutes, it’s an easy watch, but nothing particularly special. I had some fun with it, but unless you adore some messed-up visuals, it’s an easy skip. C+