The Tattooist (2007)

A young artist unknowingly plays a role in releasing a deadly spirit as he attempts to learn tatau, the Samoan tradition of tattooing.

Director:

Peter Burger

Writers:

Matthew Grainger, Jonathan King

Stars:

Jason Behr, Mia Blake, David Fane

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Behr	...	Jake Sawyer
Mia Blake	...	Sina
David Fane	...	Mr. Va'a
Robbie Magasiva	...	Alipati
Ian Vincent	...	The Tattooist / Lomi
Caroline Cheong	...	Victoria
Nathaniel Lees	...	Mr. Perenese
Michael Hurst	...	Crash
John Bach	...	Lazlo McFadden
Matailiili Denzel Tuimaunga	...	Osone
Glen Jackson	...	Cousin #1
Edmund Paongo	...	Cousin #2
Fasitua Amosa	...	Dr. Lima
Lauren A Jackson	...	Triage Nurse (as Lauren Jackson)
Alison Bruce	...	Charge Nurse

Storyline

American tattoo artist Jake Sawyer wanders the world, exploring and exploiting ethnic themes in his tattoo designs. At a tattoo expo in Singapore, he gets his first glimpse at the exotic world of traditional Samoan tattoo (tatau), and, in a thoughtless act, unwittingly unleashes a powerful angry spirit. In his devastating journey into Pacific mysticism, Jake must find a way to save his new love, Sina and recover his own soul.

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Plot Keywords:

new zealand | tattoo | samoan | tattooing | singapore | 

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Taglines:

Evil in ink.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images, language and brief sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [New Zealand]

Country:

New Zealand Netherlands Singapore

Language:

English Samoan

Release Date:

30 April 2007 (New Zealand)

Also Known As:

O Tatuador

Filming Locations:

Auckland, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$141,146 (New Zealand), 2 September 2007, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daydream Productions, Eyeworks Touchdown, Mediacorp Raintree Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Mr. Perenese: [On Mr. Va'a] He should pay for what he has done
Alipati: Then let him live... with the shame
Mr. Perenese: [throws a machete down in front of Va'a] You no longer have the right to wear that mark
[forces Va'a to cut the tatu from his skin]

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Connections

References Psycho (1960)

User Reviews

The potential was there, but...

I decided to watch this movie because it seemed like it would be a horror movie that was somewhat more original than usual - I certainly couldn't think of another horror movie centered around the culture of tattooing. While the movie does have some interesting insight here and there about tattooing and South Pacific cultures, the movie fails in its main intent - being a horror movie. For starters, the movie takes a long time before delivering its first real supernatural horror scene. And once the movie starts delivering horror, there isn't really a feeling of menace. Instead, it feels just as slow and boring as things were in the first part of the movie. It certainly didn't help that the protagonist wasn't that sympathetic. The enterprise also suffers from a low budget. While the special effects actually aren't that bad for a low budget enterprise, the surroundings look and feel like a modestly budgeted episode of a television show. This movie actually took three countries working together to make; it's surprising that the filmmakers actually found enough people who thought this tired script was worth filming.