House of Ashes
**Seen at the 2025 Renegade Film Festival
The short films of Izzy Lee’s I’ve seen are not for the faint of heart. They are odd, funny, and surreal. Watching her first feature film, that has certainly transferred over to her approach at longer-form storytelling. “House of Ashes” is a messy experience that sometimes feels disjointed narratively. Over a day after having seen it, I’m still working through my feelings on it.
One thing that is undeniable is that Lee is very much a fan of the late, great David Lynch. In “House of Ashes,” we can see elements of “Mulholland Drive” and “Twin Peaks” as she tells the story of Mia Sheldon (Fayna Sanchez), a woman whom was the first to be charged with homicide after a miscarriage. After that, her husband- Adam (Mason Conrad)- committed suicide under suspicious circumstances, which Mia is suspected of by people. Now, she is under house arrest, with a friend who’s gotten back in her life recently- Marc, played by Vincent Stalba, and some bizarre happenings begin to occur around the house.
The screenplay by Lee and Steve Johanson has some solid narrative ideas when it comes to how the supernatural works in this film, but there is also a more grounded emotional thread that is not really well fleshed out. Another film/narrative that feels like it is inspiring “House of Ashes” is the play, Gaslight, which was made into an Oscar-winning film by George Cukor. The phrase has become a central part of the modern lexicon regarding both politics and men-women relationships, and that latter connotation is what Lee is working through in her film. That is a bit spoilery for this film, but it will not be long until audiences figure out that something is not quite right with this dynamic at play in the film. The film teases us with potential “found footage” elements, as well, when cameras get installed in the house, but by and large, it’s just another part of what can be taken away from the couple during the supernatural part of the film. Visually and musically, there are some really interesting things going on, but as the story progresses, the characters just lost my interest, as it felt like obvious puzzle pieces were not being put together, and a resolution very different than what we anticipated occurs by the end. Collectively, “House of Ashes” loses its spark rather than really captivating us throughout. It’s not the actor’s fault; the story they’re involved in just doesn’t have a solid foundation.
