(This review may contain spoilers).
Okay…I think I’ve figured out what it was I watched now. I think there were some holes in the movie, but then again, nothing I’ve seen has been without fault.
The scene at the beginning was at once intriguing but a complete spoiler for the end. I think the film could have been just as effective without the very first scene, as the elements within would have set up very nicely.
The film was quite intriguing to start with, but I couldn’t have said there was much chemistry between Mother and Him. I didn’t get the impression they were a married couple and parts of the film felt more that there was a paternal relationship between them.
The movie did have very strong religious undertones, but I felt that, as it reached the middle, the whole thing became over the top and almost grotesque. I was able to empathise more with Mother, but towards the beginning of the movie, I felt she was seriously lacking a backbone. The house could have been a metaphor for the world, but about three-quarters of the way into the movie, it felt like I was watching a dystopian thriller. There was over-the-top violence and the significance of the yellow powder was completely lost on me.
Man and Woman weren’t really sympathetic characters. I had a strong dislike for both of them and each scene they appeared in left me more and more on edge. The only character I truly cared about was Mother…and I didn’t think she had a lot of strength to her. To be honest, all I was doing was waiting to see how the ending would fit with the beginning.
The movie was more complicated than I felt it needed to be and some of the violence was really over the top. I found the first half better than the second and I felt that there could have been more mystery in the movie than there actually was. The actors were good, but there were elements I think could have been better.
Ink of Blood 