A thriller of a crime drama, Into the Ashes arrives on DVD and Blu-ray and it kicks butt. I like the cast, direction, the musical score and especially the camera work that tells the backbiting story with tight grisly scenes. If you are a fan of crime thrillers, than this film certainly fits the genre and puts you in control wherever you watch it.
Convict Sloan (Frank Grillo) gets released from prison and gets picked up by members of his “family”. He’s happy to get out as he’s got revenge and retribution on his mind. Staying out of trouble Nick Brenner (Luke Grimes), a former member of the “family”, has started a new life with his wife Tara (Marguerite Moreau). Living a simple existence out of the site of Sloan, Nick works in a furniture store’s warehouse and his wife has worked her way up to produce manager at a local grocery store.
But, things are about to change when Sloan, Charlie (David Cade) and Bruce (Scott Peat) come to town with killing on their mind. Director and writer Aaron Harvey rolls out his film introducing characters at a fast pace. He then turns on all the action and reaction as Sloan and Nick explode leaving a lot of damage in their wake. Just so you know, Harvey uses an edit technique in part of the movie that looks like he left out important content on a particular scene. It all plays out in the end with a little twist.
Actor Frank Grillo turns up the emotion with a fierce depiction of Sloan. Scary and brutal, he’ll stop at nothing to get his revenge. Anyone in his way is dead meat and even cops are game. It’s his insidious performance that creates some very exciting scenes and along with Luke Grimes the two make the film work.
As the target, Luke Grimes pulls off a performance that looks dangerous and vicious as well. And there’s good reason to be out for vengeance against Sloan. The two angry men have their chance to end the feud and how it all plays out creates a lot of sparks and fire.
BONUS FEATURES: The DVD and Blu-ray include the following extras:
“Building the Fire” The Making of INTO THE ASHES that includes Director Aaron Harvey with actors Luke Grimes and Frank Grillo, Marguerite Moreau and Brady Smith (as Police Officer Brand Engels) talking about their characters.
“Shooting the South” On location during the shoot, the director, producer and others walk you through scenes and why they were important to the film.
Into the Ashes has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains extreme violence, language, and sex. It’s definitely a possibility that it will sneak in award consideration as it plays out much like Hell or High Water that was in my top 10 in 2017.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A nicely played script that thrills. (4 out of 5 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Luke Grimes, Marguerite Moreau, Frank Grillo, Robert Taylor, James Badge Dale, Andrea Frankle, David Cade, Scott Peat,
Directed and written by: Aaron Harvey
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, strong violence, language, sex
Running Time: 1 hr. 38 Min.
Video Release Date: September 3, 2019
Original Theatrical Release Date: July 19, 2019
Language: English
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Number of Discs: 1 disc
Distributed by: RLJ E Films
Released on: Blu-ray, DVD
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
