From Sam Raimi's new direct-to-video imprint Ghost House Underground comes the label's debut feature, The Tattooist. A sporadically effective ghost story, the film is still more entertaining than both of the Raimi-produced "Grudge" films.
Jake Sawyer (Jason Behr, "Dragon Wars," "Skinwalkers" and even "The Grudge") is a skilled artist who has taken his craft and started a tattoo parlor in New Zealand that has quickly become quite successful. While on a trip to Singapore, he learns of the Samoan tattoo tradition that aligns the body art with different phases in one's life. For example, one gets a tattoo when they are deemed to have grown up and become a man or a woman, whatever the case may be. Sawyer becomes especially fascinated with the traditional tools used in Samoan tattoos, a far cry from the standard needlepoint gun he uses. While observing a Samoan artist, he steals of the traditional tools as a souvenir. Unfortunately for him, this is when his troubles begin. From then on, every time he gives someone a tattoo they end up dead a few hours later. He then begins to have visions of a ghostly figure surrounding those whom he has worked on. Is he going crazy or is someone trying to tell him something from beyond the grave?
The Tattooist was so close to being a really good movie at times. When exploring the culture and history behind tattoos in different parts of the world, it is really quite fascinating. The wide variety of tattoo designs was also interesting to see and the scenery was almost as beautiful as director Peter Burger makes great use of its Singapore and New Zealand locales to give the film a distinct flavor.
It is so disappointing then that the actual horror part of the equation is so poorly done and stinks of been there, done that. It is easy to see why Raimi and company picked this up since it is almost identical in important ways to the aforementioned "Grudge" films and "The Messengers." From the ghostly figure haunting corners of rooms in decrepit old houses to the music beats and the noticeable lack of blood and gore, this is definitely plays like a spiritual successor to past Ghost House releases (with the exception of "30 Days of Night"). The myriad attempts at jump scares don't work and the mystery element is so slapdash in construction it resembles a C-grade CBS crime drama with a supernatural element thrown in.
The casting doesn't help matters. Continuing his quest to become the male equivalent of Jessica Alba, Jason Behr is ever so wooden and bland. How he keeps getting lead roles, even in low budget films like this one, is a question only casting directors probably can answer. His romantic interest is played by Mia Blake. She does him no favors as the two have zero chemistry and it is only because she's acting next to him most of the time that Blake comes off as the better of the two actors.
The Tattooist boasts some nice scenery and a few interesting scenes involving the art of the tattoo. Too bad then that the ghost story that is supposed to form the meat of the film is so generic and the acting so amateurish that one is better off renting "The Ring" again if they want a well-done ghost story.
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