Short Film Revew: INK (2014) Directed by Andy Stewart

A few months back, I reviewed Split - a short film by Andy Stewart, and was incredibly impressed. Now, he has completed his planned trilogy of body-horror, The Reflections Trilogy, with Ink. 

In Ink, we meet The Man (Sam Hayman), an oddball loner with a tattoo obsession. There's nothing particularly strange about that in this day and age. However, he is also clearly disturbed. He satisfies his compulsion by removing body art from other people's bodies; crudely stitching the pieces into his own derma. Naturally, like any addiction, it's hard to stop...

Like Stewart's earlier shorts, Dysmorphia (2012) and Split (2014), Ink deals with an individual suffering from an extreme form of mental illness. The characters are not monsters; but they do monstrous things. Ink is the first in which this manifests in harming others, however. Nevertheless, like those earlier films, the feelings, emotions, and struggles are all very relatable. Naturally, not to the extremes of the characters in the films, but there's certainly an element of coveting that may be familiar to some. 

Hayman is simply stunning as 'The Man'; creepy, disturbed looking (think Jame Gumb crossed with Jason Mewes), and particularly when in physical pain, very believable. There's very little dialogue, but you are drawn into this man's world easily, and the use of a very unconventional sound design is intentionally disorientating and even confusing at first, but becomes fully immersive, and often nearly as disturbing as the visuals. 

Once again, we're faced with some graphic body horror. It's an immense compliment to Stewart and his effects team, Grant Mason, Deirdre Flanigan and Lizz Wayt, that I will admit to squirming at least once (and maybe even twice) during the course of the twenty-minute film. The work that they did on such a small budget is amazing, and is certainly painful to watch! Naturally, it would be wrong for me to reveal too much about it, it certainly benefits from being seen cold, but it's a stunning, if disturbing, piece of art.

There's a large portion of the film based in The Man's flat, lit only by the beams of sunlight streaming through the ragged curtains, and as such is rather dark in places. It's a testament to the cinematographer, Alan McLaughlin, that it looks as good as it does with such a difficult shooting situation; the natural light is used brilliantly. I imagine it would certainly look even better seeing this on the big screen. Which hopefully, you'll get a chance to do come the next round of film festivals. If it's playing somewhere you are at, do not hesitate to check it out. 

9 out of 10

Short film review: SPLIT (2014, directed by Andy Stewart)

How do you follow up a successful, horrific powerhouse of a short such as Dysmorphia (2012)? A film about a man who feels compelled to self-amputate his limbs, played out in painfully realistic fashion on screen. Well, it seems what you do is up the stakes and go all-out David Cronenberg style body horror.
Split starts as a simple story which most of us would be able to relate to. A man (unnamed, played by Austin Hayden) is deeply depressed following the break up of his relationship (his ex is played by Shian Denovan, who was in Sawney - Flesh of Man). He doesn't have the energy or motivation to get out of bed, and ignores all attempts from friends to see if he's alright. In flashback, we see how idyllic their relationship was, but also later, why it ended. He can't let go. He texts and calls her, but the only response is to tell him to stop contacting her.

He raises himself out of bed one day and notices a large boil on his chest. Naturally, he gives it a good squeeze, sending a sickening spurt of puss splashing across the bathroom mirror.
Things are going to get worse, though, as his hair begins to fall out and, as well as some nasty lesions appearing elsewhere on his body, his fingers have become bulbous, puss-filled digits. In one cringe-worthy moment, he pulls a loose finger nail off. It's an effect and image which feels like a gut punch to even the strongest stomached viewer.
The deterioration goes on, as does the flashbacks, but I won't spoil any more than that.

Directed by Andy Stewart, who used to run horror website AndyErupts.com, this second short expands on the biological and psychosomatic themes of his brilliant first, and with a slightly bigger budget, and longer running time (just under 18 minutes here) he has managed to make an engrossing, disgusting but emotional film. As mentioned, the back-story will be a very familiar situation for most of us, but thankfully, despite the fact we might actually feel like we and our worlds are falling apart, we don't (or at least hope not) have the physical meltdown the man in Split experiences.
With very little dialogue, Stewart has managed to speak volumes. The use of sound (one of the prime elements of Dysmorphia too) and practical effects (by Grant Mason, who had worked on Nightbreed, Hardware and Sleepy Hollow among others) is paramount to creating a visceral, unflinchingly nightmarish scenario. While it may remind viewers of last year's Thanatomorphose or Contracted, it manages to do more with the subject in its short running time than those films did over their feature length (Thanatomorphose felt like an endurance test rather than a film). There's also elements of Cronenberg, most notably The Fly, but those comparisons are unavoidable when dealing with the subject of bodily mutations. While it shares nothing similar in tone or subject, the progression of deterioration reminded me of the often cruelly dismissed cult classic The Incredible Melting Man. Which is fine in my book.

Keep an eye open for festival screenings, as it's an impressive piece of work, and the third film, Ink promises to continue the theme of physical horror. Stewart deserves a bigger budget and a chance to show us what he could do with the long form though. I, for one, can't wait.
9 out of 10