Kelsey Bollig has a very personal connection to her film Inked, about a young woman who accidentally welcomes a sinister presence into her world when she tattoos her recently deceased father’s ashes into her skin.

The film, which starts unsettlingly and blows up into pure horror, plays FilmQuest tonight — Halloween. It was inspired by the death of Bollig’s father in 2019, and her own tattoos to honor his memory.

Bollig, who is based in Los Angeles, is very much a filmmaker on the rise. Her work has previously screened at top festivals such as Fantasia, Fantastic Fest, Beyond Fest and Hollyshorts, and she’s now slated to direct “Breeders,” starring House of the Dragon‘s Olivia Cooke. It’s produced by Adam McKay and Todd Schulman for HyperObject Industries, and written by Brian Steele, based on his and McKay‘s original idea.

Bollig’s past work includes the shorts “The Fourth Wall” and “Kickstart My Heart.”

“Inked” plays tonight in FilmQuest’s “Midnight Madness 2: A Halloween Reckoning” block, which means that if the timing is right, audiences should get a hell of a scare from the film at almost exactly the stroke of midnight.

We talked with Bollig about opening the door to darkness, rituals, and her work with Etheria Film Night.

MovieMaker: Where did this idea originate?

Kelsey Bollig: The idea of “Inked” came to me after I had been looking to write something involving the process of grief and the process of cremation.  I lost my father in 2019, and as weird as it sounds, I get a kick out of bringing some of his ashes with me when I travel or during any significant event. It makes me feel like he can still experience life through me. In 2019, I also began getting a lot of tattoos in honor of my father. 

In researching memorial tattoos, I discovered the art of cremation memorial tattoos — the act of putting a little bit of cremated remains in tattoo ink and then using that ink for a tattoo. If you’re looking for some tattoo supplies, then you may find the best san diego tattoo supply here.

While this ritual definitely wasn’t for me, I thought these types of memorial tattoos were quite romantic—and I also couldn’t help but think of how they could go horribly wrong. Given that I was already looking to make something involving grief and cremation, it was here that the idea of “Inked” was born. 

MovieMaker: Your two leads say “Hail Satan” to each other pretty early on — does that kind of open the door to the evil to come, or would it have happened anyway?

Kelsey Bollig: “Hail Satan” is a nod to what’s to come, but it’s not actually what opens the door for evil to get in. Letting someone or something sinister inside of you through something physical, such as a tattoo, opens the door in itself. 

It’s almost like a ritual, connecting your physical body to the spirit of whoever’s ashes you’re using. 

Kelsey Bollig on Including Her Father’s Urn in ‘Inked’

Kelsey Bollig, writer-director of “Inked” – Credit: C/O

MovieMaker: You’re the production designer on this, as well as the writer-director, and the production design is so striking and visceral. What did the role entail and how did you end up doing it?

Kelsey Bollig: Well, we shot the film in my house, hah, so it was almost natural for me to transform it from the newlywed nest that it was to the grungy, neon-lit art den that it ended up being in the film. I had the benefit of time with the design as I began transforming the house piece by piece over the two months from the project conception to the shoot days. 

I painted a lot of the art on the walls, gave a nod to my past films by utilizing their posters throughout the house, and used a lot of my dad’s photography to add a little bit of him throughout the project. I even used his urn in the design, which might be a little much for some, but I felt it was necessary to include it as it inspired the film. 

MovieMaker: Is there a metaphor at work you think people might miss? Or is the goal just full-on horror?

Kelsey Bollig: The film’s goal was to explore how grief can manifest through the lens of horror. The ink man represents the unresolved guilt that comes with grief and how that guilt can control us our entire lives. 

MovieMaker: Can you talk about your work with Etheria, and how this film plays into it?

Kelsey Bollig: I love Etheria Film Night. I first became involved with Etheria in 2021 when they accepted my film “The Fourth Wall” as a selection in their festival, and I was overjoyed when I had the pleasure of screening “Inked” in their 2024 festival.

I really admire the fest director Heidi Honeycutt and her goal to empower female filmmakers in genre. She’s done amazing things for many filmmakers, and I’m honored to be associated with her and the Etheria festival. 

Main image: “Inked”