Ash

I enjoy amnesiac stories, whether the character is missing just a day or their entire lives, and watching the process of them solving the mystery of who they are (ending in the obvious question of whether, through that process, they are still the same person). I'm also a sucker for both sci-fi and Eiza González who is certainly the highlight cast in the central role of a space explorer waking up on an alien planet with all of the other crew dead and no idea what happened.

I enjoy the first two-thirds of Ash, which plays much more like a thriller, more than the final act where it leans much more into stylized sci-fi horror as the answers finally come. The use of time, and making it unclear as the actual timeline of events, is a bit muddy in places. It's a bit awkward when you are attempting to fit all the pieces together. However it works to add to our protagonist's confusion, and her distrust over the only other member of the crew to return to the outpost (Aaron Paul).

Although not all the film works for me, I did enjoy Gonzalez (as I usually do) and I really liked aspects of the film's design including the space suits worn by the crew. For me Ash is a mixed bag that I think will play to the right audience. However, I also think, considering how far down the nightmarish rabbit hole the film goes, the ending feels a bit too neat and not nearly as dark as the story deserves.

• Title: Ash
• IMDb: link