As a filmmaker, Flying Lotus continues to show potential, particularly in his ability to craft unsettling, otherworldly imagery and pair it with haunting sound design. But Ash feels like a proof of concept more than a fully realized vision—a solid step up in production value, but not in storytelling or emotional impact. Eiza González and Aaron Paul star as two stranded astronauts on a distant planet.
‘Ash’ Movie Review
Flying Lotus returns to the director’s chair with Ash (2025), his most ambitious feature length film to date. Known for his surreal, body-horror-infused work on Kuso (2017) and the “Ozzy’s Dungeon” segment of V/H/S/99, the musician-turned-filmmaker trades in his lo-fi shock factor for an elevated sci-fi thriller starring Eiza González (Ambulance) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, Dual). But despite the visual polish and brooding tone, Ash ends up feeling too familiar and too hollow to leave a lasting impact.
The plot follows Riya (Eiza González), an astronaut who awakens on a remote planet to find her crew massacred and her memory hazy. Fragmented visions interrupt her consciousness, hinting at what led to the disaster, but concrete answers remain elusive. Enter Brion (Aaron Paul), a rescue operative whose arrival only heightens Riya’s paranoia. Can she trust him? Did he have a hand in what happened? Is there even a way off this desolate planet?
Flying Lotus keeps things tight and deliberately minimal—this is a two-hander with a slow burn—but that restraint works against Ash more often than it helps. The premise feels like it’s holding back a more interesting story, especially when the film starts riffing on classics of the genre. There are clear influences from Ridley Scott’s Alien and John Carpenter’s The Thing, but instead of building dread through mounting tension or character dynamics, Ash frontloads the aftermath and lets us sit in the quiet. What should feel suspenseful mostly feels inert.
There’s promise in the film’s aesthetic. Ash is gorgeous to look at, with its sterile corridors, vibrant alien vistas, and occasional moments of uncanny cosmic weirdness—one wormhole in the distance feels practically alive. Flying Lotus’ own score elevates the dreamlike mood, pulsing through Riya’s visions with an intensity that suggests a more visceral, feverish movie lurking beneath the surface.
But the film never quite finds a second gear. The pacing plods for much of the runtime, and the script doesn’t offer enough substance to justify its minimalism. Riya and Brion remain thinly sketched, and while González and Paul give committed performances, they’re saddled with characters who lack depth or complexity. There’s also a notable lack of thematic ambition—the movie gestures toward trauma, trust, and isolation, but never digs deep enough to say anything particularly resonant.
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As a filmmaker, Flying Lotus continues to show potential, particularly in his ability to craft unsettling, otherworldly imagery and pair it with haunting sound design. But Ash feels like a proof of concept more than a fully realized vision—a solid step up in production value, but not in storytelling or emotional impact.
Score: 5/10
Ash (2025)
- Cast: Eiza González, Aaron Paul, Beulah Koale
- Director: Flying Lotus
- Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
- Runtime: 95 minutes
- Rated: R
- Release Date: March 21, 2025
- Movies Like Ash: The Gorge, Get Away, Y2K