Independent Sci-Fi Made on a Shoestring Budget Enjoys Outstanding 100% Rotten Tomatoes Score

Making a science fiction movie is usually a very expensive endeavour. Costumes, makeup, special effects – modern audiences are spoiled by rich visuals. Besides, when you have an alien in the frame, you want it to look like the real thing.

However, spending a lot of money on production can sometimes be detrimental to the plot. Investors want guaranteed profits, so expensive blockbusters eschew experimentation in favor of proven moves and simple solutions. But when there are no sponsors, you have less technical capabilities, but more creative freedom.

For example, Alex Garland 's cult film Ex Machina was made on a budget of only $15 million, which is more than modest for a science fiction movie. In the history of cinema, however, there is an even more astonishing story of a project made for pennies by genre standards.

Ink Was Made on a Budget of Only $250,000

Director Jamin Winans made the movie Ink in 2009 and spent only $250,000 on it. In addition, most of the money spent on production was borrowed. As a result – a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an unconditional love among small circles of sci-if fans.

Undoubtedly, if the creators had a larger budget and at least some kind of marketing campaign, then Ink would have taken its well-deserved place among other sci-fi hits, and Winans himself would have stood on a par with such directors as the aforementioned Alex Garland and even Christopher Nolan.

What is Ink About?

The movie is about two forces that operate under the cover of darkness. These forces are invisible, but have power over people and fight for souls through dreams. One gives hope and strength through good dreams, the other enters the subconscious through nightmares.

John and Emma, father and daughter, enter this fantastic dream world and are forced to fight for their souls to escape the eternal nightmare. Along the way, they encounter unusual symbols that only exist in their subconscious.

Ink Is a Completely Independent Sci-Fi Gem

Ink’s low budget is actually an advantage of the project, since financial limitations were the principle position of the director and producer, who wanted to maintain maximum independence in their own project.

For a low-budget movie, Ink has excellent direction, impressive visuals, a plot that moves in the right rhythm and a complete absence of unnecessary scenes that simply stretch the time.

The creators of Ink managed to squeeze the maximum out of the resources they had, and one can only guess and anticipate what these people would create if given the opportunity to make a new movie, with a bigger budget, but at the same time following the principles and moral messages they laid out in Ink.

You Can Watch Ink Online

Ink is available to stream on Prime Video.