Dallas Film Now.

Fayna Sanchez and Vincent Stalba star in Izzy Lee’s unsettling tale of grief and horror. 

Grief can make you do funny things. Not funny as in ‘ha ha,’ but funny as in ‘strange, odd, and/or difficult to explain.’ 

Making its World Premiere at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Izzy Lee’s House of Ashes begins as a grieving widow, Mia (Fayna Sanchez) returns home to hostility, first in the person of a glowering probation officer (Lee Boxleitner), and next in the person of a pushy tabloid video journalist who desperately wants a story. 

The probation officer affixes an ankle transmiter bracelet on Mia, along with intimidating talk that’s meant to cow her into meek submission. He also delivers a warning to her boyfriend Marc (Vincent Stalba) that ‘she’s already killed two people; watch your back.’ 

Suspected in the death of her husband, Mia has been cleared of that charge, but has been sentenced to house arrest for one year, due to a new state law that classifies a miscarriage as illegal and punishable, which is both outrageous and yet not entirely out of the realm of possibility, all things considered in the present hostile political atmosphere. 

Suffering from grief over losing both her beloved husband and her unborn child, Mia finds some comfort in Marc, a childhood friend who reconnected with her after the deaths and has moved into Mia’s home to provide comfort and support. Though they sleep in the same bed on their first night together, it’s not entirely clear if they have been together romantically or otherwise, a question that soon becomes relevant as events unfold. 

Theirs is a relationship that is fraught with uncertainty and a degree of suspicion, which becomes manifest when Marc accuses Mia of moving and/or hiding his phone. It’s a small thing, but it’s also worrisome. Is he really a stand-up person? Can Mia trust Marc? 

Mia doesn’t have time to think about those possibilities; she’s more consumed with processing her grief and dealing with the reality of being a prisoner in her own home for the next year. The possible threat of a return visit by Mr. Nasty Probation Officer adds to her unease. 

As if that were not enough, Mia begins experiencing truly unsettling events that make her wonder if she is plagued by mysterious beings that she can only describe as ghosts. Naturally, Marc doesn’t believe in ghosts, but inexplicable things keep happening, and Mia must take steps to protect herself against whatever — or whomever — has decided to attack her. How can she stop what’s happening, whether supernatural or not? 

An experienced shorter-length filmmaker, Izzy Lee makes her feature directorial debut with House of Ashes, which reflects a fresh perspective on horror. Cinematic influences abound in individual shots, yet the film distinguishes itself by fusing those influences together with Mia’s search for identity after the terrible trauma she has suffered, none of which she caused. Still, she has to deal with the aftermath, and figure out how to move forward. 

The film shifts easily from reality to nightmare to daymare to night terror to something else entirely. Mia, thanks to the fine performance by Fayna Sanchez, is never entirely sure if she’s having a lucid dream or if her reality is cracking all around her. 

The uncertainty and the unease contribute to making House of Ashes a compelling trip into terror, beyond nightmare territory, and way beyond jump scares. Instead, it travels directly into those hidden places, somewhere where your own imagination starts to freak you out.