The Tattooist

The Tattooist
File:Tattoist poster.jpg The Tattooist film poster
Directed by	Peter Burger
Written by	Matthew Grainger Jonathan King
Starring	Jason Behr Michael Hurst Nathaniel Lees Robbie Magasiva David Fane
Edited by	Paul Maxwell
Distributed by	Buena Vista International
Running time	92 minutes
Country	New Zealand
Language	English

The Tattooist is a 2007 New Zealand film directed by Peter Burger and starring Jason Behr, Nathaniel Lees, Michael Hurst and Robbie Magasiva among others. The film is the first in a series of official co-productions between New Zealand and Singapore.

Plot

Jake Sawyer (Jason Behr) is a global wanderer and tattooist who explores ethnic themes in his designs. While visiting Singapore to sell his craft at a local trade show, he swipes an ancient Samoan tattoo tool. After flying to New Zealand to resume his art, he meet up with a lovely Samoan woman named Sina (Mia Blake) and discovers the local Samoan culture. But Jake slowly learns that his stolen tool ends up unleashing an evil avenging spirit whom targets all of the customers that Jake has given tattoos to since his theft of the tool. While attempting to learn pe'a, the Samoan tradition of tattooing, Jake soon realizes that Sina is imperiled when she gets a tattoo from him and he must find a way to save her, and himself.

Cast

• Jason Behr as Jake Sawyer
• Timothy Balme as Jake's Father
• Michael Hurst as Crash
• David Fane as Mr. Va'a
• Nathaniel Lees as Mr. Perenese
• Mia Blake as Sina
• Caroline Cheong as Victoria
• Robbie Magasiva as Alipati
• Matthew Ridge as Graham
• Stuart Devenie as Senior Doctor
• Jarred Blakiston as Young Jake Sawyer

Production

Principal photography commenced on 16 September 2006 in Auckland, New Zealand.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack contains music by The Mint Chicks, King Kapisi and Don McGlashan among others. The score is composed by Peter Scholes.

Reception

Critical reception has been mixed to negative for The Tattooist. Common criticism centered around the film's pacing, as reviewers from sites such as DreadCentral felt that the movie's plot was too padded and the concept too thin for the 90 minute film length. Bloody Disgusting echoed the same sentiments and expressed frustration over The Tattooist, as they believed that the movie could have been "something fresh and original but instead mimicked a bunch of terrible films before it." Shock Till You Drop criticized what they saw as an overabundance of backstory and exposition, explaining that "Too much time spent on explaining ‘why’ works against sustaining a sense of disbelief and The Tattooist is especially ponderous in this regard." In a positive review, David Johnson of DVD Verdict stated the film is "a frantic, messy, nasty little horror flick and is worth checking out."

External links

• The Tattooist at IMDb
• The Tattooist at Rotten Tomatoes