Ink

Ink is bold and creative and a fantastic example of what someone can do with vision, originality, and a $250,000 budget.

In the world of Ink, we live surrounded by beings much like angels and demons.  The angels come to us in our sleep and renew us with sweet dreams and good hopes.  The demons come, as well.  They bring nightmares and horror.  Some demons even steal souls.

Ink, short for Incubus, is just such a soul-stealer.  Hunched and ragged, he lays hands on a sleeping little girl and whisks away her soul while her father concerns himself with other things.  Ink wants to bring the soul to his masters as a sacrifice.  Can the angels stop him in time, and can they save the father’s soul in the bargain?

This is a great idea for a story, and Ink overcomes its budget restrictions to tell this story in a fantastical and compelling way.  The angels and demons are martial artists, which makes for great battles between them.  While the angels are your basic attractive young people, the demons are truly horrifying and otherworldly, with a design unlike anything you’ve seen before.  Further, Ink contrasts the spirit world and the real world with music, lighting, and set design that accentuates the difference, particularly when illustrating the hopeless, horrifying world of demonkind.

Yes, the script has some jarring moments, and the performances range from pretty good to “somebody’s parents must have put up some production money.”  Nevertheless, Ink stands as a successful low-budget film that serves as an object lesson in how to stretch $250k.  It creates a convincing world, uses that world to explore themes of duty and love, and delivers an entertaining night at the movies.

Good job, Writer / Director / Composer /  and, for all I know, Craft Services Guy Jamin Winans!  I look forward to seeing what you do next.