Movie Review #1: The Tattooist

Title: THE TATTOOIST

Release year: 2007
Rated: R

Time: 89 min

Genre: Horror/Supernatural

Director: Peter Burger

Cast: Jason Behr, Mia Blake

Website: WEBSITE/TRAILER 

Synopsis:

When American tattoo artist Jake Sawyer (Jason Behr) visits a Singapore tattoo expo, he is exposed to the exotic world of traditional Samoan "tatau". Interested in exploring and exploiting ethnic designs from around the world, Jake steals an ancient Samoan tattooing tool and unleashes an angry spirit that leads his art to take on frightening new dimensions that expose those he tattoos to mortal peril (including his soon to be love interest, played by Mia Blake). Sensing the solution can only lie with the Samoans, Jake follows them to Auckland, where he runs into an old adversary, tattoo artist Crash (Michael Hurst) and a new one, the respected Samoan elder Aleki Va’a (David Fane). His investigation takes him on a devastating journey into the dark heart of Pacific mysticism. There, Jake must recover his own soul if he is to save the woman he loves and escape with his life.

My take:

The movie is set in and filmed in parts of New Zealand that most have never seen complete with gang activity and poverty. The main character, Jake (played by former Roswell TV star Jason Behr), is an American tattoo artist who travels the world in search of exotic designs and uses them in his artwork. Before tattoos became the fad of today, it was used for medicinal, religious and spiritual measures. The art of tattooing was a way to connect your body with your inner soul or a way to release the inner part of you to make you a better person. The movie has its share of action and surprised me with the amount of suspense and horror it provided. Some points seemed to drag on but the movie still kept me on my toes. For anyone, this movie dives into the mystic and "majik" of tattoo from a cultural perspective and gives us a chance to see some traditional tattoo techniques. The artwork in the movie alone is pretty intense and the production is not lacking in any way. As an islander, my interest was struck when I read it was a tattoo movie that looked beyond what's done in tattoo shops and more of what the original meaning of tattoo is. I believe any island boy (or anyone looking for a good scare, a good movie to watch or inspiration for artwork) will enjoy this movie. The underlying love story isn't too mushy that it takes away the real plot of the story (like some other movies tend to do). All in all, I rate the movie:

WARNING: The world "haole" is used in this movie for those who understand what it means or what it's used for.