Ink's Orphic Tragedies: A Movie Review

Director/writer: Jamin Winans.

Cast: Christopher Soren Kelly, Quinn Hunchar and Jessica Duffy.

Ink is one of those stylish movies that succeed in breathing life to the stuff of daydreams and nightmares. Not only can this be viewed time and time again to enjoy, but also it can speak to those who love to explore the meaning of what goes on with the subconscious mind. Sometimes, the images a person receives in that state is a dark metaphor for life untamed, and it has a style that both Neil Gaiman (The Sandman) and Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy) can appreciate.

With denizens from the underworld looking like well dressed ghosts donning white sunglasses, they come through as genuinely creepy. These dark lords of the Dreamtime are Incubi (with no relation to the creatures in folklore) and they are a stark contrast to the guardians of hope, better known as the Storytellers. These heroes represent the good stuff people like to dream about but can ever remember when they wake up.

True to how real dreams work, this film cuts back and forth from the imagined to the waking as fast as a switchblade. In true Tarintino style, events flash back and forth. It goes back to a few days previous where our hero John (Chris Kelly) is introduced. At work, he’s a cruel calculating businessman. At home, his life is non-existent. After his wife died, he fell into despair; as a result, his daughter goes to live with his in-laws.

Before audiences can realize it, he’s injured and we enter his dreams. This approach may seem jarring at first, but there is a reason to it. The disjointedness shows how John’s world is divided into parts. He’s a broken mirror and Kelly does a very good job in developing his mood to match it.

And what director Jamin Winans developed with this film is a Greek tragedy with Orphic undertones. When John’s daughter, Emma (Quinn Hunchar) is kidnapped, thus begins the descent to the Underworld not only to save John’s soul, but also Emma’s. The only shame is that Hunchar doesn’t get much screen time to show off her acting chops.

While no big studio has picked up this movie to distribute, the filmmakers have taken it upon themselves to distribute this movie on their own.

Overall 7.5 out of 10.

The film's fan page is here:

Ink on Facebook

This film can be purchased here:

Ink's Homepage

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Posted in: 2009,dreamkiller,fantasy horror movie review,movie review,nightmare