Home Watching - 'Ink'

Ink is an independent film that was released in 2009. The story involves fatherhood, dreamworlds, Incubi, dream warriors, and the battle for a person's very soul—ambitious themes, and an equally ambitious scale of a story to tackle in a film when considering that the budget of the film is $250,000. Yet it manages to come together in a heartfelt story about a father coming to terms with what is important in his life and his love for his daughter.

One of the best aspects of this film are the various and interesting characters that are all present in the story, some coming in to it for a few minutes at most, only to leave a large impression on you. This keeps your interest in a larger world that is just as interesting, if not more interesting than the story that we are witnessing.

The story takes place across two planes, the real world, and the other world where the more exciting characters are. The real world deals with love blossoming, marriage, parenthood, and the priorities of life. The other world deals with issues regarding the innocence and the very soul of people and the battle that takes place in order to save them.

Visually the film is filled with color when it needs to be and grim when it needs to be. When we are focusing in the protagonists the screen is extremely bright and at most areas over-saturated and at moments over-exposed. When focusing on the antagonists, it is dark, and devoid of color. It takes a moment for you to get used to the visuals. However, once you do, the wonderful camera work will pull you into the film.

The performances from the actors are quite engaging, making you care for them as the film goes on, making the climax of the film that much more emotional and intense. A mixture of over the top performances, coupled with performances that were far more subtle, make for an interesting dynamic between the various personalities involved.

The make up and the effects are well done, especially that of the creature Ink. The costumes are distinct from each other to the point that even if you do not remember the name of the character, you will be able to differentiate them. The visual effects are impressive for such budget and manages to hold up even after nine years, the effect of the Incubi being particularly interesting.

One of the main detractors of the film are the action set pieces. The camera is shaking far too much and the editing during these particular sequences feel as if they were edited by a blender, making each movement incoherent, which is a baffling choice in my opinion as the movement from what you can make out from them are quite impressive, as the stunts and fight sequences are well choreographed.

The music is well done, as it is tailored to elevate the feel of the film rather than overshadow it at any point. In this way, it succeeds with flying colors, especially in the finale where it is so subtle with fantastic editing taking three different perspectives in one sequence so that the effect was similar to that of a thunderous orchestra blaring in front of you.

With the touching story of the father realizing what is important with the stakes of the soul of the little girl, who was a joy to watch throughout the film, especially when she is interacting with the rest of the cast, and the story of the dream warriors fighting to save the girl while the menacing Incubi are trying to bring Ink over to their side. Dealing with loss, sadness, and learning to move on from them in healthy ways. It is a film that provides an emotion gut punch by the end of the film.

This is one I highly recommend, and is available to watch for free if you are an Amazon Prime member.