Ashton Heights

starring: CANDACE MIZGA, FELIX MERBACK, KEVIN MIKAL CURRY, JOSHUA DAVID SMITH & ABIGAIL STANTON

Ashton Heights is a psychological thriller set in an exclusive gated community where wealthy residents are hiding dangerous pasts. When a mysterious newcomer arrives, old secrets resurface, trust shatters, and one woman must uncover the truth before it’s too late.

REVIEW

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Well this is very well acted and beautifully shot. It's vertical stars unleashed, with @candace.mizga and @abigailstanton in particular getting roles to sink their teeth into.

Which is actually why I watched this. Psychological thrillers are not my genre these days, but I came for the cast. This is one of my points about verticals, the creatives here bring an audience with them, and are mega talented.

We know from the outset that all is not well in Ashton Heights, and the arrival of @thejoshuadavidsmith tips the balance, and everything begins to unravel. The best bit of this is that it plays with your assumptions, the pair that you write off as comedy interest, Sean @joe_maria_fernandez and Jamie @suzie.haines actually have the story that impacted me most emotionally

Chaos agent Maya @abigailstanton is mesmerising to watch.

Wonderful to see @candace.mizga get a role worthy of her phenomenal talents

And the physical transformation @felixmerback pulls off is astonishing. This is not the buff lifeguard of The Summer I Turned Bad. Instead a comb over, and a jutting jaw and chin, mean it is hard to accept it is the same actor. Also appreciate that the costumer wasn't tempted to give him serial killer wire rim glasses, but instead those naff wrap round shades. Little details that elevate.

As I said, this is all brilliantly acted, and there are some good twists and turns, and shocking scenes.

But when something is doing an excellent job of building up to a big reveal, the reveal needs to be good. And it didn't quite work for me, it fell flat. One of the main reasons given isn't really ever present in the plot. Like where has that come from? So I was then confused rather than blown away

There is also the issue that non of the characters are really likeable, apart from possibly Nik - personally I like having someone to root for.

So we do end up in complicated territory here. I so want @cheratv to do well, love their mission to tell better stories. And performances are spectacular.

But emperor's new clothes territory here, don't want to give everything 5 stars just because no tropes. And the ending was a bit weak. So 4 stars from me.

💖 Top swoonworthy moment:

Well Val does have a few love interests… but this isn’t really a romance.

🦹🏼‍♂️ Top villain award:

Well it is tricky - as I can’t give it away. To be honest none of the characters are really likeable, and all have unpleasant secrets that will be revealed. Trust no one is my best advice. And stay away from hammers.

😂 Comedy gold:

Jamie and Sean have to be one of the best duos in verticals - and build a really moving friendship throughout the story after all the initial shallowness and selfishness. My favourites.

🎺 Unsung hero:

Possibly Felix Merback’s chin and jaw - how does he do that and physically transform so much?

But I think it is Nik, a good guy who I suspect made a few bad choices, and ended up in over his head.

✍🏼 DETAILS

Director: Amber Neukum | 2026

Available on Chera TV