Irish Ashes

For fans of films such as Layer Cake and Snatch, Irish Ashes is for you. Chris Shane Sanders writes and stars in the film as Tristan. Tristan has returned to the seedy British underground to settle old scores while looking for his sister. Scott Alan Ward and Claire Jared lead the narrative with terrific performances while the rest of the cast puts in a great shift that keeps the viewer glued to a plot full of twist and turns. Director Satnam Purewal litters the screen with great set pieces and quick pace scenes that keep the film flowing. Irish Ashes is a gut punch film that keeps audiences inhaling for breath up to the exciting final scene.

This move had so much potential; the plot, the setting, the cinematography, unfortunately this was all it had to offer. The acting was horrible the editing was worse and the pregnant pauses between lines was almost unbearable. Yet the movie bones were so good that you couldn't look away. This type of movie always gets me thinking, how could a movie like this cost several million dollars when any talented producer could recreate this movie with his buddies and an iPhone. That been said I was able to watch this movie all the way through and actually was excited to see how off I was from the foreshadowing that was as obvious as a slap in the face from a sledgehammer.

Watched the British low budget indie film "Irish Ashes" by filmmaker Chris Shane Sanders tonight, about a man getting mixed up with gangsters while searching for his sister. My favorite of this filmmaker's so far! Some great performances by the cast, especially by Claire Jared as Kelly Shannon and Paul Preston as gangster Eddie Rourke. It was also great seeing some familiar faces from other indie films such as Scott Ward, Jack Berner, and John Potash! I was also impressed by the various locations used which looked great on the screen, especially the church and the club. If you like films like "Get Carter" and indie films in general then give this one a watch.

I went through other reviews before deciding whether to watch this, and THANK GOD I did!

I wisely watched the preview first, and let me tell You people: I wasn't even able to finish that!

Acting is really nonexistent... punch sounds, seem to have been added by a toddler banging mom's tupperware on something that shouldn't be hit with plastic kitchen storage utensils...

And I still need to type 200 characters more...

Typical questions:

• Who pays for this?

• Aren't there test screenings? I would understand if these had been done in ireland after a well spent afternoon in the pub, but still... pffff...

Minimum characters criteria met!

I've followed Chris Shane Sanders and his production company Black Coppice Films from the very beginning when he first started making short films.

Irish Ashes is his twelfth feature which is some achievement. I didn't like his first horror feature much Nest of Vampires but he seems to have come a long way since then.

I read somewhere Irish Ashes was dedicated to his mum too who passed away shortly before filming. There is a dedication in the credits.

It's a shame then some user reviewers resort to personal attacks. If you read the guy's bio Chris has lived and worked all over the world.

Was he right to cast himself in the lead role? Maybe, maybe not. Clearly he's no Arnie but I thought the character needed someone with depth and sensitivity which he pulled off.

I've watched far worse performances. The fight sequences were ok too. It's clear all the actors involved have done a bit of boxing in their time...

Overall, Irish Ashes is a decent indie flick shot on a modest budget. Some of the acting isn't great admittedly but the story, pacing, mood and ambition is there. Saying that, Claire Gerard's performance I thought was pretty good.

I take my hat off to anyone who can write, produce and take on the lead role in a feature. That is no easy task and Chris just about pulled it all off.

Irish Ashes is better than a lot of Brit indie gangster flicks. It's not perfect by any means but has enough going on to keep viewer's interested. The direction was good and the editing crisp. I enjoyed it. If you can look past the modest budget it's a fun watch.