The first stop on the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival tour was House of Ashes (2024). I went in blind and thought it was about a house that burned down, and boy was I wrong! We follow Izzy Lee and Steve Johanson’s story of a grieving widow who is placed on house arrest. The world-building felt uncomfortably close to what could be our immediate dystopian future. The setting and real-life horrors are what kept me interested. The story feels a little disjointed because it has so much going on. There is not enough time to give each part its proper weight. However, the multiple moving parts kept things interesting enough to stay engaged through most of the third act.
A Dystopian Reality That’s Too Close To Home
In this dystopian version of reality, Mia Sheldon (Fayna Sanchez) is the first woman to be convicted of murder due to what seemed like a miscarriage. This garners negative attention from her neighbors, true crime TikTokers, and the news. Mia’s interactions with them are a harsh (albeit true) reflection of society. Her probation officer and how he abuses his power is a reflection of our justice system and who can end up in these roles. His visits felt grueling and dehumanizing.
The only positive person in her life is her boyfriend, Marc (Vincent Stalba). I knew instantly that he was a devil hiding behind a smiling facade. He was overly sweet and so helpful that it became infantilizing. There was something he was trying to prove. Mia’s grief and her current circumstances wore down the mask until Marc’s scowl began to show. Marc is wildly jealous of her deceased husband and unborn fetus and the attention Mia gives them. While this could be a strong storyline in its own right, there is more to it.
He Really Showed His Ash
The drama of Mia and Marc’s relationship is the House Of Ashes‘ main focus, but there is also a supernatural element. Mia is serving her sentence in the home she previously shared with her husband. His ghost is haunting the house, but not with as much vigor as I would like. I actually forgot that spirit roamed the halls. I remember the ghost giving Marc a tummyache more than anything (although, technically, Marc started it). The supernatural storyline only further confused me during the third act. The film spends too much time on the lackluster showdown between Marc and Mia in the end, which makes the runtime crawl to the finish line.
Overall, I appreciate the world-building and the willingness to take risks. The real-life horror of Mia’s situation worked for me, but the supernatural aspect and the jealous weirdo boyfriend plot did not. I wonder what this movie would look like if a single woman happened to be in this situation. I think removing the predictable male villain would have given Mia and the literal ghosts of her past more to do.
You can also check out Jazz’s thoughts on Animale out of Brooklyn Horror Fest!
