January 5, 2010 – First time viewing.

Ink is easily the coolest and most creative film released in 2009. If it weren’t for my friends over at Sans Broccoli, I would probably never have heard of it let alone given it a fair shake.

“Ink” was written and directed by Jamin Winans and cast, shot, produced, distributed – everything by his Double Edge Films production company with a budget of $250,000. After shopping the script around Hollywood to the many major and indie studios and getting nowhere, Double Edge decided to finance and produce the films completely on their own… I would highly recommend checking out the company’s blog.

Right before the holidays, after all of the buzz I’d heard about the film, I went to the Double Edge Films website and bought an autographed copy of the film. I didn’t get a chance to watch it before two nights ago but I can say this: It was well worth the wait. Ink is the coolest movie I’ve seen in a long time. Not only that but it’s so fucking well made and awesome to watch that everyone needs to see this movie. Buy the DVD or contact me and I’ll lend you the disc.

From the film’s website, Ink is the story of:

An 8-year-old becomes the pawn in a metaphysical war being fought between the forces of light and darkness in this visually outrageous indie thriller.

Kidnapped by a large, strange, creature known as Ink, the girl is taken through a labyrinthine world of dream states while those who love fight to bring her back into the real world and bring salvation to her desperate father.

The synopsis says it all. What really is quite entertaining to watch is how Winans represents each side in this fight between the light and the dark. The light side is comprised of hipster fighters that strive to bring everyone their fondest and happiest memories while they sleep. The dark side army if a bunch of creepy men all dressed in black with eerie shape shifting faces. Their goal of course is to cover the sleeper’s thoughts with bad memories and fears. When the two forces collide, they fight.

What could have easily been some of the cheesiest fight sequences of all time were executed perfectly. The choreography, the edits, and the overall creativity to attempt moves and shots that haven’t been seen before is great. There are two main fights and both of them are extremely entertaining to watch. When the fighting isn’t happening, we are treated with memory flashbacks, both good and bad, some montages, and some kick-ass score. Even if sci-fi isn’t your thing, Ink is certainly a feast for the eyes.

The movie is more visual than anything. I say this because, while the film’s look and imagery is fantastic, the story and script does seem to be lacking a little. The base story is ultimately a good versus evil tale with a few twists thrown in to mix things up but at the end of the day it is fairly conventional. (I’ll let you guess which side wins…) The actors have some work to do as well before they hit the big time… All of this however is nitpicking. No matter how conventional the story is, it’s the filmmaker’s role to tell the story on screen. Much like James Cameron with Avatar, Jamin Winans through the unique look and feel of Ink succeeds at doing just that and then some.

When Ink was released on DVD and online (iTunes etc…), the pirate community rapidly took hold and began offering it for free online. The buzz for the movie was so incredible that it was downloaded 400,000 times in 48 hours and skyrocketed from #12,991 to the rank of #16 on IMDB’s list of most popular movies. I don’t know about you but that is amazing! Much has been said by Double Edge Films about this as well as their stance on piracy (check out their blog to read about it). I tend to agree with them. There is no doubt that those 400,000 people should have paid for the movie instead of downloading it. If you think about it from an indie production’s point of view, though, all the news and attention Ink has gotten from the downloads and by fan commentary can be leveraged by the team for their next film. Without a doubt, when a studio exec lands on a script by Jamin Winans, next time, they’ll pay more attention. I would venture to bet (safely) that we’ll be seeing Winans’ next film picked up by a studio and distributor.

The Bottom Line: 4.5/5. As far-out as the premise seems, Ink is a surprisingly accessible movie. It never stumbles into ‘over the top’ territory and the filmmakers did a great job of focusing their creative energies and budget. The fight sequences were awesome, the eerie look and effects done on the dark creatures was facinating and whenever the film’s score jumped in I got completely swept into the film as an experience. A viewing of the 10 minute behind the scenes featurette that comes on the DVD only further bolsters my love of the movie. I only wish it was longer!

Have you seen Ink? What did you think? Anybody want to help me get this film to Montreal?

You can also find me on Twitter and Google Wave at billrusnak@googlewave.com.

Alternatively you can email me at widescreen[dot]wonderland[at]gmail[dot]com.

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