The following contains spoilers for Ash, now playing in theatersAsh‘s hive-mind alien is the core threat of the sci-fi/horror film and an impressive addition to the genre. Ash takes place on a distant planet in a future where humanity has been struggling to colonize other planets. They initially seem to find a match, only to discover they aren’t alone on the world. While most of the movie is focused on Eiza González’s Riya rediscovering her memories of what killed her crew, it also steadily reveals the source of the death and destruction is an alien whose true scope remains unknown.
Ash has a lot of grisly fun with this alien life-form once it’s formally introduced, revealing the ways it can take over human beings and connection to a larger hive mind. What makes the alien so frightening though is the way it’s quietly advanced beyond what humans are capable of and how it intends to ᴀssimilate humanity into itself by the events of Ash‘s ending. Here is what we know about the hive mind from Ash, what it is capable of, what it wants from humanity, and how dangerous it really is.
Ash’s Aliens Are A Parasitic Hive Mind That Can Control Humans
The Alien In Ash Remains Unseen For Most Of The Movie
The alien from Ash is a parasitic creature that is part of a larger hive mind, eventually revealing that it is capable of infecting and controlling humans. The alien life form, which receives no clear name in the film, is part of a larger species that has seemingly been traveling the cosmos seeking to transform distant worlds. Despite the mᴀssive distance between them all, the aliens remain connected through a collective hive mind.
This extensive hive mind is fully revealed after a sample of the alien life form is collected and inspected by Riya. The enтιтy, still connected to the hive mind, quickly proves capable of autonomous movement and is able to force itself into the skulls of crew members Adhi and Kevin. Once inside the body, the hive mind is able to ᴀssume control over the person. Even deceased humans aren’t immune to this, as the alien is able to reanimate the deceased Brion as a host after being forced out of Riya.
Why Ash’s Aliens Target Humanity
The Hive Mind Doesn’t Want Humanity Interfering With Their Own Expansion
The alien in Ash doesn’t necessarily go after humanity or even intend to encounter them. Instead, Ash is the result of an unfortunate coincidence. While humanity has been spreading to the stars in an effort to find new habitable planets, the hive mind has also been expanding and adding worlds to its influence. The planet that Riya’s crew and the hive mind both land on can’t accommodate both species, setting off a conflict between them.
This is clearly the first time the humans have encountered this alien life form, as the explorers are initially overjoyed at their discovery. The hive mind is less impressed, declaring humanity “inefficient” when it exposes itself to Riya and instead attempts to absorb it into their collective. The alien only attacks when humans find their own terraforming technology and poke around with it, killing Davis and setting off a chain of events that gets almost all the humans on the planet killed. While the alien has no clear fondness for humans, it seems to be primarily focused on expanding itself.
Why Can’t The Aliens Control Riya As Easily?
The Alien Wants To Manipulate Riya Without Her Realizing It
The aliens are able to infect people quickly and force them to carry out their will, leading to the corruption of Adhi and Kevin and the deaths of most of the crew. The only one who isn’t as easily controlled is seemingly Riya, who initially appears to have maintained her agency while contending with her injuries with small medical patches. However, while Riya has maintained a certain amount of control over herself, she’s still being manipulated by the parasite inside of her.
By allowing Riya to “break” its control, the alien is able to manipulate her towards its goals.
In the third act of Ash, it’s revealed that Brion was killed by the alien-controlled Kevin. The Brion that had been guiding and helping Riya is a manifestation of the alien. By allowing her to retain some level of control but hiding within her body, the alien plans to make it back to humanity and to further spread among people, fully dragging humanity into the hive mind. By allowing Riya to “break” its control, the alien is able to manipulate her towards its goals.
Where Did Ash’s Alien Hive Mind Come From?
The Hive Mind Is Scary Because It’s So Mysterious
The hive mind in Ash is never fully explained, which only adds to the mysterious and threatening aura that surrounds the enтιтy. The hive mind has never encountered humanity before, given how excited the astronauts are at making this discovery. The hive mind is clearly part of an advanced enough species that they can construct entire terraforming operations, as seen in the technological discoveries the humans make in the distant world. It’s unclear though if the alien parasites can grow bigger to move objects around themselves or if they took over the bodies of other possessed creatures.
The sheer alien nature of the hive mind is what makes it so scary in Ash. It doesn’t consider humanity to be a threat or an enemy, merely a pest to be dealt wth and a new species to add to the collective. The hive mind seems unconcerned with anything resembling human morality and instead considers them “self-destructive” enough to simply ᴀssimilate them and be done with it. If Ash were to get a follow-up, it’s possible that audiences could learn more about the alien and its home.
Do The Aliens Have Any Weaknesses In Ash?
Fire Solves Everything
The hive mind in Ash proves very hard to dispatch even when it’s exposed. Through its physical extension, the alien is able to crawl into bodies and take them over. Killing the body doesn’t stop the alien, and it can simply move to another body. The hive mind can even pilot around corpses with relative ease, highlighting how even physical pain and suffering can’t do much to it. The only thing that Riya is able to find that can hurt the creature and stop it is fire.
The alien life form from Ash being vulnerable to fire gives it another thematic connection to the creature from The Thing, which seems to be a clear inspiration for the new film.
While the hive mind is controlling Brion’s corpse and morphing it to meet its needs, Riya is able to use a blow torch to light the body on fire. This is able to seemingly destroy the physical extension of the hive mind, as it stops attacking Riya. However, it’s unlikely this brought down the hive mind itself, which is still out there and likely more interested in absorbing humanity than ever. This is supported by the post-credits scene of Ash, which leaves the door open for a return to Ash‘s world.
What Ash’s Ending & Credits Scene Means For The Hive Mind
Ash‘s Finale Sets Up A Dark Future For Humanity
Ash‘s ending is a triumphant one for Riya, at least initially. After destroying the physical extension of the hive mind that was controlling Brion’s body, Riya is able to make her way to the ship that can take her back to the satellite above the planet. From there, she can return to Earth and inform them about what she found. However, the mid-credits scene reveals the hive mind has spread to the satellite, meaning she’s walking into a trap.
This also makes it likely that the hive mind has larger intentions for humanity. A prospective follow-up could reveal exactly how the hive mind gained the ability to traverse the galaxy, potentially absorbing other space-faring races (like humanity) into itself while stealing their tech. If that’s the case, then the satellite could only be the beginning of the hive mind’s intentions for humanity. Ash sets up a very dark future for humanity that could easily be the basis for a sequel storyline.
