Ink

It's a rare treat to get an indie film that isn't just the product of a big studio's "indie division" like Juno, or something so indie that only people into indie will enjoy it - like anything labeled mumblecore - and is still a well done and enjoyable film.  Ink, starring Chris Kelly, Quinn Hunchar and Jessica Duffy introduces us to a world where those no longer of this life exist on a different plane of consciousness as storytellers, weaving people's happiest dreams.  Others are incubi, touching the sleeping with their nightmare shadows.  Some are lost souls, wandering about, not sure where they belong.

It is one of these lost souls, a deformed wretch by the name of Ink, who steals away the soul of young Emma(Hunchar) in a bid to be accepted into the ranks of the incubi.  While her father(Kelly) helplessly finds his daughter left mysteriously comatose, a band of warrior storytellers is in hot pursuit of Ink and his prisoner.  Led by a blind pathfinder named Jacob, delightfully portrayed by Jeremy Make, they are determined to rescue Emma.  In the meantime, Emma and Ink are joined by a mighty storyteller Liev(Duffy) who allows herself to be taken prisoner in order to try to sway Ink's plans.

This fantastical movie was filmed on an impressively shoe-string budget and in some ways that is painfully obvious.  The team behind it, however, do a wonderful job with working with what they've got and the captivating visuals and compelling story more than compensate for the somewhat amateurish feel.  The bane of low budget films - the subpar acting - is also, thankfully, absent.

I tried to come up with examples to compare this to, things like Dead Like Me, steampunk, and Miyazaki.  Though there are bits and pieces that reminded me of all three, and more, Ink is just too original for me to quite lay a finger on an easy comparison.  It's a little hard to follow at times, and if Hollywood is your only exposure to movies it may seem a bit strange.  That being said, this is one excellent story.  I'm forced to lower the rating a tad because it was a bit confusing at times, and showed its budget at others, but really, it was better than a lot crap out there with million dollar budgets.  See it.

**** (4/5 stars)