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Review: Barry Jay’s “Ashes”

A friend of mine asked me to watch and review this movie, and I thought, “sure, why not, that’s basically my job.” Going into my viewing of this movie, I had no idea what to expect other than it being something scary from a new film-maker, but I quickly became invigorated by the plot because it briefly resurrected a forgotten subgenre briefly brought back to life by Ryan Murphy’s “FEUD.” I’m talking about the psycho-biddy subgenre, where older women in their 60’s and 70’s are the villains. The classification was made popular thanks to stars like Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Olivia de Havilland, Geraldine Page, Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters, and now it rests on the shoulders of Melinda DeKay. Written and directed by fitness extraordinaire Barry Jay (known for Barry’s Bootcamp), Ashes finds a small family mourning the loss of their Aunt Marion. Soon after the funeral, the family is sent her ashes in a big white box, and immediately those around the container start experiencing supernatural events. As the haunting rises in intensity, they’ll have to go through hell to banish her angry spirit back to the grave. Now on digital and on demand, Ashes stars Elizabeth Keener, Jeremy Earl, Yumarie Morales, Angelique Maurnae, Elaine Partnow, Melinda Dekay, Mario Olsen, Brandon Lamberty, Damien Diaz, Casey James Knight and Parker Wright.

Ashes is supposedly based on actual events (prove it!) and brought to life by 1091 Media as well as producers Barry Jay, Jennifer Esquivel and executive producer Carl Rumbaugh. In Ashes, Aunt Marion’s death is surrounded by this film’s unique take on Mischief Night shenanigans, and that sets the basis for her otherworldly revenge. Although, the “he laughed at me” motive is probably one of the weakest in horror film history. That said, I enjoyed what little I saw of human Marion and thus I’m on board with her taking her rage out on estranged family members. And as the haunting continues, her attacks get rougher and rougher. Every time night falls on the house, whether the remains are present or not, you know something bad is going to happen – from voices, to internal attacks, semi-possessions, objects moving on their own and everything in between. Despite Marion’s reason for revenge being so lackluster, Ashes has one of the best, most inventive scenes with a ouija board. I’ve never seen a ouija board planchette… well, I won’t spoil what happens, actually, but it was probably the best scene in the entire movie. With special surprises like that written into his scripts, I can’t wait to see what Barry Jay has in store for horror fans in the future.

Ashes is a horror film at heart, but it also has some comedic aspects to it as well. Thankfully, these contrasting genres were meshed together well and came out successfully. I enjoyed some of the pauses and dry humor, and it also served to make the film a bit more family friendly. Because that’s probably one of Ashes‘ biggest strengths – its accurate depiction of an American family. While loving and supportive, the family is also loud, annoying and bicker like cats and dogs. They may not agree all the time, especially when it comes to handling the haunting and hiring a pair of dude-tastic ghost hunters, but they will fight with their lives to protect each other. Ashes finds cinematography and editing by Jay Lee, and I have to say that I loved the quality and the look of this film, and it fits perfectly on digital streaming platforms. It’s very sleek and modern. It’s always a positive when the story and the actors’ performances match the integrity of the production value. Do I have any criticisms here? Well, I would have gotten rid of the time stamps and I wouldn’t have switched from documentary style to narrative film as much, but really, Ashes is a fully coherent piece of cinema that didn’t disappoint me as a viewer.

When getting revenge is better than going to the afterlife, you’re left with a bunch of Ashes. A fun, often scary, always hearty horror film that’s an easily enjoyable ride for all types of viewers. Final Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Michael DeFellipo

(Senior Editor)

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