I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
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.
By Andrew Hedley, Flicks.co.nz
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.
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.
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
what was that song when jake was giving victoria and her cousin there tattoos?
DON'T KNOW BOUT YOUS BUT I REALLY LIKED THIS MOVIE AND THAT'S ALL I GOT TO SAY ABOUT THAT
Within all this vaguely disappointing source material, you'll still find some remarkable stuff...
Neither as scary as it should be nor as culturally interesting as it thinks it is...
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...
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...
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 30th Aug 2007.
Release date: August 30th 2007.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
