From the Ashes is a Saudi film that was released on Netflix on Thursday, Jan. 18. It’s set at a strict all-girls school where a fire blazes out of control, leaving everyone questioning whether it was an accident or not.

The opening 30 minutes of this flick heavily focus on the characters. We are given tiny pieces of information about each of them that could make them a suspect in this incident. Because we learn so much about these individuals early on, it adds to the overall mystery of who had the biggest motive. It also does a good job of highlighting the culture in this country, which makes the whole situation even more complex once the fire occurs.

Once the film gets to the fire sequence, the intensity really begins to ramp up. It was shot very well, and the whole thing lasted for about 15 minutes. Because it goes on for so long, you truly get to feel the desperation, emotion and fight of these people as they try to escape.

Following the fire, the remainder of the movie is dedicated to determining who the culprit was. Rather than this all being done by the police, I appreciated the aspect of the school conducting an internal investigation. By doing this, they were able to utilize flashbacks and incidents from the past that could connect to this tragedy.

From the Ashes attempts to pull off a twist at the end, but it’s pretty easy to see coming. By limiting their investigation to just a few of the characters, there weren’t really many other options to choose from that weren’t obvious. This didn’t overly hinder my viewing experience, but it is the weakest part of the movie.

In the end, From the Ashes delivers in its intense and emotional sequences, but fails to surprise at the end. Still, I was invested for the entire runtime, and it does effectively deliver in its messaging about suppression. I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews for this flick, but personally, I enjoyed it for the most part.

Rating: 3 out of 5