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The Tattooist

The Tattooist

2007
A New Zealand-made thriller about an American tattooist (Jason Behr) who wanders the world, exploring and exploiting ethnic themes in his tattoo designs. In a thoughtless act, he unwittingly unleashes a deadly spirit as he learns the art of tatau, traditional Samoan tattooing. He needs to find the source of the evil in order to stop the spirit's murderous rampage reaching his new love, Sina (Mia Blake).

Starring Jason Behr, Mia Blake, Nathaniel Lees, David Fane, Robbie Magasiva, Michael Hurst, Tim Balme

Directed by Peter Burger (TV's 'Rude Awakenings', 'Maddigan's Quest')

Written by Matthew Grainger, Jonathan King

Thriller, Horror | 1hr 32mins | Rated (R13) | contains violence, offensive language & sex scenes | Origin: New Zealand, Singapore | Official Site »

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The Talk

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  • rubbish

    saw this on tv - what a total load of crap. The director just kissed goodbye to a career with this. So hokey and cliche. Hopless

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Flicks review

  •  2

    Andrew Hedley, Flicks.co.nz

    Andrew Hedley, Flicks.co.nz

    Flicks Writer

    An original concept gets a bland delivery in the latest New Zealand horror film to hit the multiplexes. The Tattooist suffers from playing it safe, relagating a uniquely Pacific concept to the confines of an uninspiring screenplay.

    The film begins muddled, and spends the rest of its running time trying to straighten itself out. Tim Balme cameos as a crazy religious father who gives his son a psychological problem after cutting a tattoo out of his arm. Plot point one: tick! Flash forward to the son all grown up, keeping it cool in exotic Singapore (Asian investors are happy!) He finds himself at a Tattoo expo, where he discovers a stall that offers the ancient Samoan art of Tatau. He steals a little tattooing tool and spends the rest of the film regretting that decision: for it has an evil curse!

    Roswell actor Jason Behr, no doubt the greenlighting drawcard for the film’s investors, is an emotional black hole. He sucks the life out of every scene. His monotonous voice serves as an anesthetic. If he hasn’t bored you by the end of the film, he’ll have put you to sleep. Mia Blake, on the other hand, is much more perky and likeable. And there’s decent supporting work from Michael Hurst (whose character vanishes mysteriously from the storyline), Robbie Magasiva and David Fane.

    I was interested to learn that everyone in Otara lives next to a power pylon. Surely they’re more at risk dying from cancer than from an evil spirit? The broad cultural generalizations don’t end there, because the musical soundtrack is also a bit naff. It’s an insipid playlist, with dreary offerings of rock and hip hop. The love scene is pure gorgonzola: a Don McGlashan tune strums gently as Sina traces the art across Jake’s back. Add in some pelvic thrusting, some candles, and some fade transitions and you’ve got yourself a good laugh.

    Is it scary? The evil spirit that we occasionally get a glimpse of looks a bit creepy, but generally no, it’s not a frightening film. The make-up effects are wonderful, especially the spurts of black ink that replace the victims’ blood. And there’s a particularly gory scene in a hospital which will please the splatter fans. But as far as horror films go, it’s a paint-by-numbers exercise. Sudden loud noises and flash frame abound.

    Story-wise, it doesn’t make sense. Why is that spirit going around killing everyone? What a bitch! What did they do to him? The climax of the film feels tacked on. It’s a cheat ending that appears out of nowhere (I’m not ruining anything by revealing that Jake finds the answer in his dreams… yes, really) and ends on a note that is both respectful to Samoan culture and at the same time horribly insensitive.

    Agree? Disagree?...

The people's reviews

19 reviews

  • best horror tattoo movie of all time

     5

    Jo Parsons

    Nobody (?)

    i love the tattooist, this has inspired me futher to become a tattoo artist and have decided to get a tattoo done using the tools within the film, in Samoan as inspired by Ami james. i think the film is great although im not religous or cultural i do believe the film has realy made me understand the culture behind it and other cultural beliefs behind the different types of
    tattooist.

    Agree? Disagree?...

  • Best Comedy Ever...

     3

    Masha

    Nobody (?)

    It is the funniest all time film I have ever seen from NZ - supposed to be a horror, but me and the family pissed ourselves laughing. It's funnier than Eagle vs Shark or Sione's Wedding - that's why it's a must see, it's actually great because it's hard to tell if it's a send up or not.

    It uses every cliche in the book and tries so hard that it's becomes comical and hilarious. And yes, the American lead is really bad, but that adds to the enetrtainment. Truly one of the most entertaining films ever.

    Agree? Disagree?...

  • yeah

    Auckland

    Nobody (?)

    well, i watched the movie with my freind lexxii & we thought it was okay eh lol hahahhahahaa
    im in ict with her right now, infact, we both thought it reminded us about twinklesd hahahahahhaah LMAOAOAOOAOAOA

    Agree? Disagree?...

  • i need to know something

     5

    matt

    Nobody (?)

    what was that song when jake was giving victoria and her cousin there tattoos?

    Agree? Disagree?...

  • IT'S ALL GOOD!!

     5

    nikki

    Nobody (?)

    DON'T KNOW BOUT YOUS BUT I REALLY LIKED THIS MOVIE AND THAT'S ALL I GOT TO SAY ABOUT THAT

    Agree? Disagree?...

  • The Tattooist

     4

    Ian

    Nobody (?)

    I played the ink ghost monster otherwise known as Lomi/The Tattooist, I am Samoan and I enjoyed working on this film and getting to know my Samoan side of my life, and seeing first hand how things worked not only on the set but the amount of research they did to try and keep it as authentic as possible. Although it was not as scary people wanted it or thought it to be (as I would of liked it to be in parts), I personally enjoyed the culture behind it and just cracking up and Jason saying samoan words, but overall I thought they did a good job.

    Agree? Disagree?...

  • wow

     5

    LACHLAN WHYTE

    Nobody (?)

    I havent seen it but im very moved by the way this jeanie girls talks its almost as if she is a director / crit ....hmmmm ponder ponder will watch this movie he is a average american ....considered hot lol sad sad sad lives

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  • SEKI IA KOU MEA!

     5

    jonathan utu

    Nobody (?)

    ONLY IF IT WAS A LITTLE BIT LONGER!............KALA ULA!

    Agree? Disagree?...

  • outstanding!!!!!

     5

    Beckzzzzz

    Nobody (?)

    it was so damn good with hot actors and actress!!!.... it was a really interesting story with several cultures like the SAMOAN one!!! ur the besssssssst!

    Agree? Disagree?...

  • I dissagree

     4

    Jeanie Mcdonald

    Nobody (?)

    For all the reviews i have heard and seen so far about the tattooist, i would have to dissagree with. This movie may be classed as a horror,spook or whatever you would like to call it, but not focussing on its classification, think about the history, the cultural backgrounds and its, somehow, inspiring story.
    After walking out of the New Plymouth cinima, almost everyone was talking about getting a tattoo or about the ones they already have, usually when i walk out of the cinima i hear almost nothing from the other viewers, but, when i came out from that movie i could hardly hear myself, hardly a bad word was spoken about it.
    And not only is Jason Behr soft on the eyes, it is good seeing him rise up and do a film such as this, coming from his background of aliens and U.F.Os. Also it is good to see New Zealand, little New Zealand, rising up, from being such a small unknown country, to what we are now. So instead of making bad or doubtful comments about one of the handful of movies thatcome out of this country, why not be thankful, greatful and honered that such film came from here. Sure it may be no Lord of the Rings or King Kong, but what meaning or New Zealand tast did those movies have. And i am not downing or taking a stab at these critics it is there job, but there is much more to a film than its classification.

    Agree? Disagree?...

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Press Reviews

  • Dominion Post [Graeme Tuckett]

     3

    Within all this vaguely disappointing source material, you'll still find some remarkable stuff...
    Read full review

  • NZ Herald [Russell Baillie]

     2

    Neither as scary as it should be nor as culturally interesting as it thinks it is...
    Read full review

  • The Christchurch Press [Margaret Agnew]

     2

    1/2 What could have been a run-of-the-mill thriller is lifted by flashes of original thought and some expert performances, overall The Tattooist fails to leave a good impression...
    Read full review

  • TV3 [Kate Rodger]

     2

    1/2 It fails to cohesively deliver what should be a very compelling storyline with more than one-dimensional characters. And despite how easy I am to scare, no nightmares here...
    Read full review

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