Every so often a film comes along that really makes you think. It may leave you scratching your head but it will definitely make an impact. This year it’s indie supernatural thriller Ink, which follows workaholic father John (Chris Kelly) on a journey to save his daughter Emma (Quinn Hunchar) from her dream where she is kidnapped in a nightmare by Ink. The film has proved to be a big hit after its premier at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival last year, receiving praise from fans and critics alike. Currently boasting around 1.6 million hits on youtube, Ink has been dubbed as this years ‘it’ movie and will be coming to DVD in the UK on 25th April. We talk to the film’s writer and director Jamin Winans to find out more information on this surreal thriller and what he thinks of Ink’s phenomenal reception so far.
Ink presents us with two worlds: the real world and the dream world. The dream world is divided by the ‘good’ forces that give you good dreams and the ‘bad’ which give you nightmares. Winans attributes this element of the story to his love of fairytales, “When I was a kid I was a huge fan of Snow White”, he says. “Consequently I was terrified of the witch in Snow White (in old woman form) and would occasionally have nightmares that she was sneaking into my room and trying to kidnap me while I slept”. It was this image of the old woman that Winans used to build his story around. In the film, Ink wears a ragged black cloth robe, and walks hunched over staring at the ground as he walks. “It’s not just coincidence that Ink looks a lot like the witch in Snow White”, he says. Then cheekily adding, “It’s also not just a coincidence that my wife and producer, Kiowa, looks a lot like Snow White”.
Since its release, Ink has been compared to the likes of Donnie Darko, The Matrix and Inception. Winans reveals that cult hit Donnie Darko was undoubtedly an influence on him. “Donnie Darko really rocked my world when I saw it and I have to imagine was an influence for me”. Even though one of last year’s biggest films, Inception, was released after he made Ink, Winans indicates that Christopher Nolan is an inspiration, mentioning that “he brings a lot of dignity and credibility to the Hollywood system”. These of course aren’t his only influences and inspirations. He reveals that directors such as Terry Gilliam, Michael Mann, Frank Capra and Krzysztof Kieslowski also influence his work, “generally I love anyone who’s not just making movies, but making cinema”, he says. “The influences are so many I’m sure I’m not even conscious of them. I try and rip off as many people as possible so it’s not too obvious I’m ripping them off”.
Winans previous work involves a number of short films, such as Spin and The Maze, as well as feature film 11:59 which also featured one of the leads of Ink, Chris Kelly. Winans highlights that he wrote the role of John with Kelly in mind, “he’s one of my favourite actors and really wonderful to work with so it was a no-brainer to cast him”, he says. “Ultimately, he had to be an actor with a big range not only emotionally, but physically”. As for Hunchar who took on the role as Emma, she was inexperienced but blew Winans away in her audition, “we wanted a girl who could play against expectations of the helpless kidnapped kid”, he says. “We wanted her to be tough and a bit of a tomboy, but still very fragile. It was obvious Quinn was right when we met her”.
Moving onto the film itself, Ink is visually exceptional. One thing that’s striking is the use of light: the brightness of one world and the darkness of the other. What effect was Winans going for by doing this? “The visual palette really came out of the necessity to orient the audience”, he mentions. “There’s very little verbal exposition in the film so we have to know where we are at any moment by the visual aesthetic. Light and dark as well as warm and cold colours were how we did that”. These elements shine through remarkably well; as the screen lights up around the ‘good’ forces and darkens around the ‘bad’. Winans and director of photography Jeff Pointer worked hard on these scenes, and were happy with the outcome, “in the end, the effect ended up being much more striking that we expected”.
Since its premier in Santa Barbara, Ink has been gaining more and more critical acclaim from both critics and fans, which Winans finds heart warming, especially since Hollywood didn’t want anything to do with it. “When we started doing screenings and talking to fans we were really blown away”, he says. “Since then it’s just spread and spread, but yet it’s all just word of mouth from die hard fans who have elevated it to another level. We only wish we could thank each of them personally”. Winans wants the fans to take away whatever message they like from Ink, even quoting visionary director David Lynch, “it would be a shame to limit a film’s potential by explaining what it means or what you intend in words”, he says. “So I’ll just say my hope is the make the world a better place even if only for just a couple of hours. If the audience takes that with them, I’m happy”.
Winans innovative vision is one of the reasons Ink has been such a success. So what can we look forward to from him in the future? “I thought I might retire and get into basket weaving”, he says jokingly. “But if that doesn’t pan out my wife and I are going to be in production on a new film this year. It’s hush-hush at the moment, but it’s a sci-fi/fantasy that I’m really excited about”.
Thanks to fairytales, wonderful visuals and inspirational directors, Ink really is an interesting and intriguing film and will no doubt continue on its successful path when it is
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