Ash Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Ash Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 10, 2025

Flying Lotus is a musician adding the world of filmmaking to his artistic interests. He previously directed the little-seen “Kuso,” collaborated with the late, great David Lynch on a music video, and added a segment for 2022’s “V/H/S/99.” Following his genre interests, Lotus goes full-on horror in “Ash,” which takes inspiration from 1979’s “Alien,” examining the disaster of a space exploration team trying to understand life and dangers on an unknown planet. Screenwriter Jonni Remmler provides a map of confusion to follow, keeping things somewhat mysterious and incredibly violent at times. However, “Ash” isn’t driven by plot, which struggles with formula, instead finding life through its visual presentation. Lotus serves up a satisfactory nightmare with the endeavor, and it intermittently scores through heavy atmosphere and vicious encounters.

Riya (Eiza Gonzalez) awakens in a fog, barely recognizing her surroundings as she stumbles around. She soon understands that something horrible has occurred, discovering the mangled bodies of her colleagues inside an increasingly bloodied base. Finding special medical patches to balance her mind and body, Riya begins a search for life, believing that Clarke (Kate Elliott) is still out there after recalling how she suffered a psychotic break, likely responsible for the deaths of others. The hunt for clues doesn’t turn up much, and Riya’s mind flashes through memories of an earlier time, recalling the excitement of the astronauts as they reach planet KOI-442, which could be the key to the mystery of terraforming, allowing humans to escape Earth. Answering a distress call is Brion (Aaron Paul), who arrives in a lander, looking to evacuate the survivors and exit this dangerous world. Riya grows consumed with understanding all that’s happened, dealing with visions of violence and mounting evidence of an event that changed everything for the mission, handed 12 hours to piece together the puzzle before Brion leaves.

“Ash” is loaded with disorientation. It follows Riya as she comes to inside her room, groggily understanding that a vicious event has occurred, stumbling around the dead bodies of her fellow astronauts, including Captain Adhi (Iko Uwais), Kevin (Beluah Koale), and Davis (Flying Lotus). Something significant has happened, and Lotus is tasked with building a mystery worth following, staying with Riya as she assesses the situation, facing a security systems breach and the loss of Clarke, who’s somewhere on the outside. The planet in play is a hostile one, prone to violent sandstorms, and Riya displays evidence of physical harm, as she’s covered with bruises and blood. What happened here? That’s the general push of “Ash,” giving the first act to the main character’s investigation, while Lotus starts to layer in intense cinematography by Richard Bluck, focusing on the gruesomeness of Riya’s face-melting visions.

Viewers begin to learn about the mission alongside Riya, soon joined by Brion, who answers an SOS call but doesn’t quite understand what’s happened around the base. Flashbacks fill in some of the gaps as Riya remembers happier days with her colleagues, enjoying mealtime banter and intimate exchanges. The survivor visits private quarters and reads diary entries, working to squeeze more information out of her brain, while Brion pushes to escape, as his lander only has one shot per day to leave the hostile planet. There are survival challenges to help keep “Ash” lively, watching Riya deal with the hull breach. And future tech is interesting, including a Japanese medical robot that’s helpful to detect bodily issues, and isn’t too gentle on its patients. Lotus isn’t in a hurry with the feature, but the general mysteriousness of the material is capably managed, and Remmler stars to clarify the situation in the last act.

Ash Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

"Ash" is a very cinematic movie, and the visual presentation (2.39:1 aspect ratio) has plenty of difficulty with compression and encoding issues. Banding is a common sight, joined periodically by posterization and solarization. Some blockiness is found as well. Detail is acceptable, picking up on the skin particulars of the cast as they experience changes in environments and violent attacks. Space exploration uniforms and tech retain texture. Exteriors are crowded with visual effects, but distance is understood, selling the remoteness of the area. Interiors around living spaces offer a decent view of set design achievements and technology. Delineation is satisfactory.

Ash Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix offers an active and immersive understand of the strange experiences in "Ash," finding atmospherics compelling throughout the listening experience. The track plays with position as the main character's brain starts to melt, and sound effects are distinct. Dialogue exchanges are crisp, often competing with the intensity of frame elements such as storms and violence. Scoring is sharp, with a fresh feel for synth support and heavier bass stings, which add to low-end response.

Ash Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (11:55, HD) is a discussion of "Ash" with director Flying Lotus, who describes himself as "kind of an actor." The interviewee explores his introduction to the screenplay, his involvement in the project, stylistic (inspired by "Suspiria") and scoring choices, and Lotus celebrates his cast. Technical achievements are highlighted, and Lotus's own acting process is detailed.

• "Creating the Costumes with Aitor Throup" (2:19, HD) is an interview with the costume designer, who walks through his process, working with the natural human form to begin his creative journey. The interviewee discusses early design ideas for "Ash," and his collaboration with "Steve" (a.k.a. Flying Lotus), including the addition of biological elements to the space suits used in the picture.

• "The Visual Style" (1:24, HD) examines the look of "Ash" with director Flying Lotus, which the helmer describes as "pretty wild." Lotus shares his intent with cinematographic choices and visual effects, also offering his love for genre films.

• "The Making of 'Ash'" (5:23, HD) explores the production experience, featuring interviews with director Flying Lotus, producers Matthew Metcalfe and Nate Bolotin, and actors Eiza Gonzales, Aaron Paul, and Kate Elliot. The interviewees discuss their response to the script and the director, also detailing their appreciation of character and cinematic tone.

• "Behind the Scenes" (16:14, HD) is a fly-on-the-wall look at the shooting of "Ash," watching director Flying Lotus and his crew create shots and work through takes. There's also a lot of on-set footage, following the team as they prepare for camera time and enjoy their camaraderie.

• Cast & Crew Interviews (HD) provide time with actors Eiza Gonzalez (38:51), Aaron Paul (15:32), Kate Elliott (17:05), and Beulah Koale (19:52), and producers Nate Bolotin (12:39) and Matthew Metcalfe (14:20).

• And Theatrical Teasers #1 (:31), #2 (:59), and #3 (:44) are included.

Ash Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Ash" doesn't win on storytelling, finding a lot of the tale reminiscent of other sci-fi movies, and the influence of author H.P. Lovecraft is appreciable. Lotus tends to prioritize visual might, filling the frame with severe lighting, intense close-ups, and graphic violence, which is occasionally sold by budget CGI. The nightmarish intent of the endeavor is its strongest asset, keeping the viewing experience intriguing and disturbing. Lotus tries to work in some action beats (with Uwais in the cast, it's expected), but nothing's quite as effective as stewing in the unknown with Riya as she gets closer to her reality inside the base. "Ash" doesn't have a particularly effective climax, but it does have plenty of mood leading up to the finale, generating a passably unsettling sit at times, also defining Lotus as a visualist to watch.