Trail of Ashes is a 2020 fantasy-mystery-horror film about two long lost brothers who grew up on opposite sides of a hateful war; they must now choose between family bonds and political alliances.
Directed by Arturo Lizardi from a screenplay co-written with Samari Vega, the Puerto Rican-American Polymorph Films production stars Héctor Escudero, Cecilia Arguelles, aforementioned Arturo Lizardi and Jasmin Sanabria.
Plot:
When the empress’s daughter Lina disappears, the Crow Tribe, still rebelling against the empire, plans a mission to find her first, in an attempt to have leverage over their enemy. Silas, raised by the Crow Tribe, is tasked with intercepting a quill (justice-seeker) sent to investigate the prime suspect in the case: an inquisitor, one of the empress’s elite.
Silas, now posing as the quill Ranieri, is conflicted when he learns the inquisitor he is to interview is actually his long lost brother, Marco, who was raised by the empire after both brothers were orphaned due to a tragic and mysterious incident.
As the investigation deepens, Silas realizes that nothing is what it seems. The case will unlock secrets that will blur the reality of everyone involved…
Reviews:
“Although there’s some interesting stuff here, Trail of Ashes falls short of the mark. It’s a very long 98 minutes for so little to happen in, and despite flashes of inspiration, it never lights up as it should.” Eye for Film
“Overall, there are some strong aspects to Trail of Ashes, which are made all the more impressive due to how small the budget was. It’s a shame that the writing falls short since there was some real promise to what this film could be. It’s not horrendously bad by any means, but there’s a lot of room for improvement.” Film Threat
“When it’s time for action, Lizardi is up to the challenge with effective fight sequences that aren’t too overblown and ideally realized for the tone of the film. There’s not enough action to break up the monotony of the interrogation scenes though and even with a relatively short run time of 98 minutes, the pacing makes it feel longer.” Lyle’s Movie Files
Release:
Trail of Ashes was released On-Demand by Gravitas Ventures on December 1st 2020.
Cast and characters:
Héctor Escudero … Marco / Mute
Cecilia Arguelles … First
Arturo Lizardi … Silas / Ran
Jasmin Sanabria … Nam
Migdalia Rosario … Empress Voice
Carlos Miranda … Eli
Ian Daryk … Father (as Ian Daryk Ramos)
Astrid Lizardi … Red Scorpion
Jorge Antares … Prison Guard
Michael J. Morris … Old Man (as Michael Morris Zamora) (credit only)
Michael Morris Zamora … Old man
Luis R. Santiago … Ranieri
Lemuel Rivera … Inquisitor
Karina Curet … Magistrate
Angelica Luiggi … Young woman
Filming locations:
Puerto Rico
Trailer:
