Ink: A extremely well-made low-budget fantasy/action film you've likely never heard of

Normally, when you see a film that was made for $250,000 you expect it to look like a film that cost $250,000. There isn't a whole lot that can be done with that sort of money and if you do aim high, there is a very good chance that you aren't going to be able to afford good actors, any special effects that you use are going to look cheap or fake, and the movie is almost certainly going to get torn apart by critics if anyone even bothers to watch it. But every now and then someone comes along and does something incredible with such a small amount of money and Ink is one of those.

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Released in 2009, I had no idea that this film existed until yesterday. I noticed the near 7/10 rating on various sites, saw that it was a fantasy movie and really, at that point I was kind of sold. But when I started playing it I could see the tell-tale signs of a group of people who didn't have access to high-quality cameras and if you just so much as watch the trailer you will probably notice what I am talking about.

However, if someone does get to that point like I did and consider turning it off, please resist the urge to do that because if you stick around like I did, you will be rewarded by some pretty fantastic stuff that is almost poetic in how it is told.

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I don't want to spoil the story for you so I am going to be kind of vague as far as what the story is about but let's just say that it is supernatural, has to do with dreams, and is a battle of good vs. evil.

The way that film is presented is extremely innovative, and it kind of indicates (very early on) that the things that happen in our lives are somewhat influenced by outside supernatural forces that we cannot see. This is done in a very creative way that will show the same sort of walking sequence but with the parts that the real world is incapable of seeing only being shown every now and then, with the human element being done in brighter colors to indicate the difference between the "spirit world" and the real world.

I don't know how else to write that without spoiling something.

There are things that happen in this movie that don't makes sense as far as their budget is concerned such as highly coordinated fight scenes with very good lighting, wonderful fight choreography, and realistic looking practical effects. There is also the case of the fact that this is a fantasy film and there are people that are "teleporting" or phasing in and out of the real world and at no point in time does this look or feel fake.

There are also these particularly evil characters that have some sort of creepy screen over their heads that look really cool and also quite real

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I think the best part of this entire production is that of all the actors in this film (and there are a lot of them), none of them are terrible - which is something I have just come to expect from low-budget films. This is particularly true with the little girl who plays "Emma" named Quinn Hunchar.

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Normally, I cannot stand child actors including the ones that were scouted by major studios and specifically chosen out of thousands of applicants for a major film with a huge budget. Kids are just very rarely capable of decent acting but this little girl is absolutely outstanding. It is a damn shame that according to her filmography that she only went on to do 3 roles and is now nearly 30 years old. I suppose that is because this movie, although it is regarded as one of the best low-budget films ever made, was basically ignored by the world when it was released. Hell, I am a bit of self-proclaimed film-buff and I didn't hear about it until 15 years after it was released.

The trailer kind of sets the mood there and I feel as though they did a good job of showcasing just enough about the film to get you interested but not so much as to spoil it. When you are watching this, I think especially once you realize that they had about the catering budget of a "real film" and managed to get and end result like they did, you will really appreciate how much of a labor of love this was. I can't understand why Jamin Winans, the director, writer, and producer, hasn't ended up going on to do much bigger things. hell, most of the stuff he has made don't even have wikis.

Resist the urge to turn this thing off in the first 20 minutes where it is kind of evident that they don't have any money.... stick with it, and you will be rewarded with a true hidden-gem of a film that isn't the best thing you have ever seen, but is truly remarkable considering the near complete lack of funding and zero support by the film industry.

_{it is difficult for me to determine where exactly this is available but the best I can find is that it is definitely available on Amazon Prime, but it is regionally locked at the moment to only US, Canada, and UK}