INK Review

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of seeing a rare kind of independent film at Cinema Village in NYC. When I say rare, it's not because of the genre of the film (sci-fi fused with a bit of fantasy/dreamscape) but rather because of the tremendously high quality final product that is "Ink" a new feature film from up and coming director Jamin Winans. Some of you may already be familiar with the filmmaker from his sensational short film "Spin" which I didn't realize was Jamie's until after I stumbled upon his youtube channel, but in retrospect there is a direct homage to the short in "Ink" which makes for one of the more memorable scenes of the film.

So what makes "Ink" so uniquely cool and different? First off, the level of FX in this film are outstanding, in addition to fantastic cinematography, art direction, editing, choreography and sound design. Every element of the film's production, especially the post production values, are top notch. In addition to that, the movie is chock full of cinematic homage that I was spotting left and right, making it truly a film buff's film to enjoy. Everything from "The City of Lost Children" to "The Matrix" to "Sin City" to an obscure Chris Cunningham videos (maybe that's just me seeing things), but I got a certain sense of glee from seeing the influences of some of my favorite directors such as Aronosfky, Fincher, Lynch, Jeunet and Rodriguez present and alive in the film.

For an independent product, "Ink" looks and feels just like a high budget sci-fi adventure and that truly is a marvel and nod to the director's hard work and creativity. My one gripe with the film was that I felt elements of the story were a bit heavy handed, but I think it's Jamin's way of getting across his positive message about the importance of family. Either way, it never distracted from the fresh style of Jamin's filmmaking and the unqiue universe he has crafted. I don't want to spoil any of the plot, so just watch the trailer above and I'm sure you'll be intrigued to seek out the film. "Ink" is playing in limited release right now in only a few select cities, but hopefully it will be distributed as a digital download so all the world can have a chance to see this truly remarkable independent film. Stay up to date with the film on Double Edge films official website, Twitter, and blog.