Ash Review: Trippy Space Horror Hits Prime With Style

When nightmares bleed into the waking world and the line between threat and hallucination pixelates, welcome to Ash—Flying Lotus’s latest foray into psychedelic horror. After stirring up the festival circuit and pulling in a surprising box office haul for such a wild ride, Ash now beams into your living room via Amazon Prime. The mission: melt your brain and hammer your nerves, with a little help from Aaron Paul and Eiza González.

Plot: Stranded and Paranoid on a Haunted Moon

No time wasted—Riya (Eiza González) jolts awake on a lonely lunar outpost, surrounded by the mangled remains of her crewmates. Enter Brion (Aaron Paul), who claims he’s there to save her, but suspicion hangs thicker than the lunar dust. What unfolds is a two-hander soaked in paranoia, where trust decays faster than oxygen levels and everyone’s motives are up for debate.

Survival horror gamers will feel a familiar chill. If you’ve ever crept through Dead Space or Alien: Isolation, you’ll recognize the atmosphere—though Ash twists it with fever-dream logic and cosmic unease. Every scene is a guessing game: Are you watching a rescue, a breakdown, or something far weirder?

Flying Lotus’s Surreal Signature

Behind the camera, Flying Lotus (Steven Ellison) dials up the weird: neon-soaked shadows, synths that buzz like a brain scan, and transitions that melt reality into liquid. This isn’t just another space thriller—it’s a sensory overload. If you’re into the likes of Mandy or Beyond the Black Rainbow, you’ll feel right at home in this trippy orbit.

Sound is half the scare here. Flying Lotus’s score pulses with dread, layering every moment with static, whispers, and synth drones. Turn the lights down and the volume up—if you’re not a little unnerved, check your pulse.

Visuals: Hallucinations Take Center Stage

Visually, Ash is a blast of lunar grit and nightmare color. Hallucinatory sequences warp time and space, channeling the dream logic of games like Control and Silent Hill. Effects aren’t just spectacle—they’re baked into the storytelling, pulling you into the weird with no escape route.

Flying Lotus borrows from the greats—Solaris, Event Horizon, Annihilation—but he’s not just remixing. He’s making something new, a sensory gauntlet that dares you to keep up.

Characters: Raw and Unpredictable

González’s Riya is more than a sci-fi scream queen—her nerves and resilience are painfully real. Paul’s Brion teeters between empathy and menace, never letting you settle. Iko Uwais drops in with signature intensity, though his role is fleeting (action fans will want more).

Dialogue can stumble, and the chemistry flickers, but the mood never lets up. This is a film that wants you to squirm.

Structure and Pacing: The Vibe Is the Point

Don’t look for airtight plotting or deep backstories here. Jonni Remmler’s script is scaffolding for Flying Lotus’s visual pyrotechnics. The pacing drifts—sometimes hypnotic, sometimes jarringly violent. If you want a logical mystery, you’ll be left floating. If you want a head trip, strap in.

For Gamers and Genre Adventurers

Gamers, especially horror fans, will spot the DNA: unreliable narrators, audiovisual overload, and the kind of pacing you find in a survival horror campaign—quiet dread snapped by sudden shocks. Think Prey, Returnal, Control.

If you need everything wrapped in a neat bow, Ash might just frustrate. But if you’re here for midnight vibes and cosmic anxiety, it’s a trip worth taking.