Ink

Ink follows the journey of eight year old Emma (Quinn Hunchar), who falls into a coma after she is kidnapped into a dreamworld by a mysterious monster, called Ink. In the real world Emma gets hospitalized after falling into a coma, but in the dreamworld she is being used by Ink as a pawn in a metaphysical war being fought between the forces of light and darkness.The forces of light are a group of people who give dreams to the living, known as storytellers, warriors, fighters, navigators and pathfinders. The forces of darkness, the Incubus, concurrently give nightmares to the living. Now Emma's only hope lies within her negligent father (Chris Kelly), a successful business man, as the forces of light cross over to the real world and try to alter his path to save Emma... What a crazy ride. Ink is unlike any other movie I know.Its definitely the most original movie I have ever seen and visually, it is quite stunning,the special effects really enhance the film.They're not state of the art GCI but they are tremendously effective.The soundtrack is wonderful and very suiting.The acting was good, specially Quinn Hunchar,this little girl is not only beautiful but she played her role with a maturity way beyond her age.The story its kind of a grown up fairy-tale and has an epic feeling to it,unfortunately it gets too confusing and complex at times,its one of those films you have to watch more then one time to fully comprehend everything that happened.My other complaint is the following: I think the movie is a bit all over the place.It has many great ideas and elements but it ends up being a bit messy.Having said that I'm amazed by what this director was able to accomplish with a low budget and probably not many resources.I see a LOT of great ideas here and I see a lot of potential.If Jamin Winans can do a film like this with this budget, I could only imagine what he would do with a Hollywood budget. In conclusion,Ink is a crazy and surreal journey that deserves to be seen.A very original and refreshing piece of work and the director is one to watch!

7/10

A bold, rich and very remarkable film. This is art, not entertainment. Story: This little movie defies easy categorization; there is nothing quite like it that I am aware of. For students of literature, you will find connection to the work of Dante -- in particular, The Inferno -- and other works that portray a human being losing his/her soul, for that is what this movie is about. There are philosophers (Rudolf Steiner) who believe that the world is literally divided into overlapping, parallel worlds populated by forces of dark and light (not good and evil) where each side works continuously to influence human beings leaning in one direction or the other -- the demon lying upon us as we sleep, feeding us nightmares; the angel gently stroking our forehead, comforting us as we face our deepest fears. This is an epic and continual battle in which the darkness in the world comes from those of us who have committed treasonous acts against our own humanity and suffer, in proportion, consequences for having done so. In film, I would group this with movies like Renee Missel's Resurrection or Blatty's totally brilliant Ninth Configuration. But bear in mind that you are watching an INDIE, which means limited money to make the film. Therefore, production values suffer at times: there are weak special effects, low budget costuming, limits to cinematography, etc. These should be easy to overlook given the scope and depth of this work. Jamin Winans has crafted a minor masterpiece. The ensemble acting is uniformly superb, but Mr. Kelly carries this film with a deeply felt and gifted performance. Though the story may be difficult to follow because of its unique and complex subject matter; in fact, it is tight as a drum with virtually every shot and edit building on those that preceded it, but it will take a second viewing to discover this. The direction is very fine: the film absolutely has a look and feel expressive of its content. The use of off-color green was effective and quietly disturbing, as was the black ink-like flow covering the protagonist at specific moments throughout the film. At a time when our entire culture is in danger of losing it's soul, when so many are seeking insight into something deeper and truer, this film could not be more appropriate. INK is what Independent films are supposed to be: intelligent, deep, inspired, rich, genuine, quirky, imperfect expressions that Hollywood could never make or would simply ruin because of commercial pressures. Mr. Winans -- thank you.

This movie is a gem. A very ambitious project for such a low budget, it has a large cast, many locations and very effective visual effects. More importantly, it has an interesting and inventive story line, memorable characters inhabited by capable performances and a great pace to the editing. It takes us on a surreal journey back and forth between our world, and that of the title character, Ink. Ink is a neophyte Incubus, part of a race of beings that bring us bad dreams and are invisible to humans. When a Storyteller (part of the race of people who bring us good dreams) encounters Ink trying take the last step to becoming a full-fledged Incubus by kidnapping a little girl, a great battle ensues. We are carried between realities, through time and along a great ride that I know I won't soon forget.

There are a few relevant twists that I wont mention here, which unfold effectively along the way. They never seem forced to me, but act as a slow realization. This is one of the things that was most impressive about the film: It was made by a confident and capable director who lets the story reveal itself as it should, trusting the audience to make the necessary connections. A rare trait among independent filmmakers who are either too obtuse and obscure in the delivery of their art, or who err on the other side, dumbing down their story to ensure the audience "gets it". Winans does neither and lets you feel a part of the process with his confidence in your abilities as the viewer. The ending is satisfying without being overplayed, and there was enough going on through out making me want to see it again to look for more.

It's not a perfect film, but my quibbles are as much my personal taste as anything else. And those critiques are too small to mention here.

Ink has proved to me what can be done on a low-budget and with limited resources when you have a great script and take the time to do it right. I don't know what the budget was, but I'm pretty sure it was ridiculously small for the type of production value Winans delivers. He wrings good performances from the unknown cast through out. And while none were quite Oscar-worthy to me, the large cast blends well together and a few performances are really good. More importantly, none are that red flag you almost always see in an indie film. You know the one. It reminds you that this is being made by a low budget cast and crew somewhere. The action sequences are very effective, interestingly shot and edited without looking like they are the focus of the film.

Ink looks, sounds and feel like what we all hope for when going to see an indie: a "real" movie.

Folks, you are going to be hearing about this one. I guarantee it.

John has worked hard to climb the corporate ladder from his humble origins but, unless something changes, his ambitions and grudges will destroy his relationship with his daughter Emma. At the same time, while the world sleeps at night, it is visited by Storytellers (who give people good dreams) and Incubi (who give people nightmares). When an interloper named Ink kidnaps Emma to hand her over to the Incubi, the Storytellers unite with a Pathfinder (who can influence what people do during their waking hours) to make things right.

I think I first saw this one with my brother around the time it was released. The fantasy world in its well-crafted story is very engaging. A few times the dialog felt a little off to me, but the characters are interesting and the actors do a good job of bringing them to life.

The description on the back of the DVD says its been compared to The Matrix, Brazil, and Dark City, which I sensed especially through the excellent camera work and cinematography. One scene in particular of the Pathfinder "stopping the flow" is very masterfully executed!

Well, some people who write reviews here dont understand how to grade...1=well there are alot wich deserve hat grade..but not this one.

But when you see it is written by qcmhwcgh..........well you know he7she7it is a serious guy...right..Its like the new wheel of time...one or ten ..cmon guys... Enogh ranting..A film that made me think in a good way+ diffrent..Worth a watch (If your IQ is above 65 and your age is above 15............) Cheers...