Ash: Trust no one. Especially in space (trailer: scifi horror film).
Buckle up, folks. Flying Lotus, the multi-hyphenate musical maestro turned filmmaker, is back in the director’s chair with Ash, a sci-fi horror-thriller promising to make your skin crawl and your trust issues flare up. Written by Jonni Remmler and boasting Eiza González (Riya) and Aaron Paul (Brion) in the lead roles, this flick is set to hit U.S. theatres on March 21, 2025—and based on the premise, you’ll want to mark your calendars in something more permanent than, well, ash.
The story unfolds on a distant, lonely planet where Riya wakes to a nightmare: her entire crew aboard a space station has been mysteriously slaughtered. As if that isn’t unsettling enough, salvation arrives in the form of Brion, a would-be rescuer with questionable motives. Can she trust him? Or is he the next chapter in her horror story? Given the genre, we’re betting on the latter. But don’t let us spoil the fun.
Backing up the suspense is an eclectic cast, including Iko Uwais (Adhi), Beulah Koale (Kevin), Kate Elliott (Clarke), and even Flying Lotus himself, pulling double duty as Davis. Oh, and just to ensure the film doesn’t drift too far from its gritty, cerebral potential, Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium) has hopped on board as an executive producer—so expect some slick dystopian vibes and moral quandaries that’ll linger longer than that leftover popcorn.
Originally, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tessa Thompson were slated to star, but in a bit of casting shuffle (because space is unpredictable like that), Paul and González stepped in to take the lead. Filmed against the eerie, otherworldly landscapes of New Zealand, Ash wrapped production in 2023, and by early 2024, Amazon Prime Video snapped up international distribution rights for a cool $10 million at the European Film Market. Not bad for a film that’s going to make you fear both isolation and the people who say they’re there to help.
Here at SFcrowsnest, we’re suckers for a good space horror, and Ash looks set to scratch that claustrophobic, trust-no-one itch we didn’t realise needed scratching. Check out the trailer below—just don’t watch it alone.
