Director Izzy Lee’s House of Ashes is a modern ghost story that’s bound to send a shiver down your spine.
The film follows the story of Mia Sheldon(Fayna Sanchez), a woman under house arrest after being convicted of a crime that she is haunted by whilst trapped in her home.
House of Ashes is far more than a traditional genre film as it deals with important topics such as women’s bodily autonomy and abuse with a great amount of care and style. Izzy Lee stated that they “came up with a story that’s universal for all women” but went on to further add that even though the film is about the struggle’s women face, anyone can engage with its themes.
Though a supernatural horror film, co-writer Steve Johanson stated that when creating the film, they sought “to mix in a bit of everything” when it came to genres. Nowhere is this more apparent than with the inclusion of Mia’s new boyfriend Marc Winter(Vincent Stalba).
Stalba’s performance as the crazy boyfriend brings a much-needed levity to the films dark tone, but as the film approaches its unforgettable climax, his wild performance becomes something far more terrifying.
Unfortunately, House of Ashes does have a few problems, worst of all being the plot. The film starts off great and the mystery surrounding the death of Mia’s husband and the predicament she finds herself in is incredibly engaging, however, as the mysteries are uncovered and new problems arise, the plot takes a backseat to scares.
Some of the scares are done well, but due to the budget constraints, others come off as laughable when they should be terrifying.
This isn’t to say House of Ashes is a bad horror film, throughout its hour and a half runtime the horror mostly comes from the dark subject matter and Mia’s relationship to her late husband and new boyfriend. It’s just that the traditional scares don’t land nearly as hard as the subtle ones.
Locking the film down to one location was as much a financial decision, as it was a story one. The crew made the film on a micro-budge, but that doesn’t change the fact that they were able to deliver one of the most original horror films of the last decade.
House of Ashes is a great film that’s held up by the incredible performances courtesy of Fayna Sanchez and Vincent Stalba, even if the horror doesn’t always land, the commentary and social messaging is well needed in the times we are living in.
Featured Image credit: Nihil Noctem Films
Fourth year Film and Journalism student
Deputy editor
Contact - deputyeditor@brignews.com
