"Ink"

As I was perusing the bare selection of Netflix movies available to stream directly to my TV through my Wii, I stumbled upon a movie in the Sci-fi section I had never heard of. The poster was intriguing and sort of rad, and the user rating was relatively high, yet when I looked up the film at rotten tomatoes there were only three critics who had even heard of the film. The three reviewers had given the film near-perfect reviews, so I decided to risk a couple hours of my life and watch it despite knowing nearly nothing about it.




What I discovered was Ink, an indie Sci-fi film that screened at only a handful of film festivals, including one in Denver, L.A., and Cancun. Because of its low-key profile, the filmmakers had a hard time finding a distributor, so it was only shown at a couple indie film houses. Ink soon turned into something of a myth, and the only way to get your hands on it was to download it illegally through torrent sites. Ink became the single most downloaded movie in torrent history, which the filmmakers were thrilled about because it finally gave them ammunition to use against the naysayers who denied them distribution deals. This helped the movie get on sites like Amazon and Netflix, and finally millions of people are able to experience this little wonder of a film.

Ink was filmed exclusively in and around Denver and features beautiful cinematography, a solid cast, and a truly unique idea bundled in a concise little $250,000 package. Right from the first scene it feels like you're experiencing the budding career of a future Christopher Nolan or Peter Jackson. In fact, I daresay that with a proper budget Jamin Winans could have turned his film into a blockbuster epic to rival Inception or Avatar. The story and screenplay is what truly shines here-- something that most blockbusters lack-- and here's hoping that Winans goes on to join the ranks of those trying their hardest to save modern cinema from it's funk of artistic complacency.

Here's a bone-chilling trailer you might like.