Flying Lotus' Ash Just Dropped on Amazon Video – Is It a Worth-Watching Sci-Fi Flick?
A rather surreal sci-fi movie that was inspired by survival horror video games and John Carpenter's classic.
Online theaters like Amazon Video and Apple TV have released Ash, a psychedelic sci-fi horror from musician Steven Ellison, better known as Flying Lotus.
In recent years, he has established himself as a director with a short story in the anthology V/H/S/99. His new experimental film stars Eiza González and Aaron Paul.
What Is Ash About?
Riya wakes up covered in bruises and blood on the floor of a research station on a distant planet. With no memory of what happened, she stumbles across the mutilated bodies of the crew.
Suddenly, Brion, one of the survivors, appears, claiming to have received a distress signal. Anyone familiar with sci-fi thrillers will understand: Brion is not to be trusted. Riya has the same thought.
Fragmented, bloody flashbacks, however, suggest that Riya herself is an unreliable narrator. Adding to the intrigue is a message from the computer: activity from an unknown life form has been detected on the station.
Ash Is Inspired by Survival Horror Video Games and Alien
Even if you are not a gamer, it is clear from the first frames that Flying Lotus was inspired by the aesthetics of survival horror video games. Riya's disorientation is transferred to the viewer: flashes of emergency lights, eerie visions, bloody marks on the walls, and the wail of a siren.
The sensory overload for an hour and a half is quite intense. However, the director gives the viewer a chance to catch his breath. The contrast is felt in the flashbacks: we are shown a warm atmosphere at a common table, where the still living members of the team are sitting.
These are typical scenes that we remember from Ridley Scott's Alien, probably the main reference point for Ashes.
Ash Is a Rather Abstract Sci-Fi Work
However, while the original Alien is a benchmark for conceptual, dramatically verified sci-fi horror, Ash is built on a different foundation.
Lotus takes liberties with structure, rhythm, and motivations – the director was not so much carried away by the movie in the classic sense, but by the movie design. Ash is about visual effects and stylization. You don't delve into it – because there's no special content in it – but you experience it.
That's why you can actually enjoy Ash. The movie does not pretend to be an abstruse sci-fi, but is located in the niche of the B-movie category. Lotus' movie has a psychedelic style with Riya's visions, abstract landscapes of the distant planet and cheap 1980s special effects.