Visually Stunning if Derivative
Summary
Ash is elevated by incredible visuals and an awesome score; it actually feels like a genuine alien environment. It has a few scares and gory moments with some fight scenes with Iko Uwais, but nothing too spectacular. It’s on Prime just now and is maybe worth a one time watch.
Plot: Riya wakes up on a mysterious planet to discover her crewmates have been slaughtered. When a man arrives to rescue her, an ordeal of psychological and physical terror ensues.
Review: Ash is really more of a sci-fi/horror picture than an action movie, but it does star Iko Uwais and had a couple of brief fight scenes, so here we are.
Eiza González plays our lead Riya who wakes up in a strange environment with no memory of who she is or how she got there. She soon realizes her crew have all been brutally murdered and she tries to find out what has happened.
Ash has some trippy and stunning visuals which really help to create a alien feeling world; the music score is also awesome and adds to the atmosphere.
At 95 minutes Ash is mostly well paced although you can guess early on which way the story is going to go. Iko Uwais has a small role, but we still get to see him do his thing and it’s good to see him in a different kind of role from what we’re used to. I’m still annoyed at how was was totally wasted in The Force Awakens…
There are some jump scare moments as well as some gruesome gore which create this nightmarish world
Overall, Ash is a visually stunning cosmic horror and it’s cool to see Iko Uwais in something different; it’s all a bit familiar feeling like several other movies, but this is worth a one time watch.