Archive

World Fantastic Cinema

The Tattooist

Peter BURGER

New Zealand / Singapore2007 91min 35mm Color Asian Premiere

Synopsis

Basic presupposition: Our body is a window through which we contact and perceive the world and the things beyond. For believers of such premise, getting a tattoo is more than accessorizing; it is embracing of the world that is forever altered. They view tattoos as evidence of communication with Higher Power, a device that protects the spirits residing in the body. In The Tattooist, the tattoo artist Jake cuts his hand with a Samoan instrument, after which a dark shadow starts to stalk him. Initially unaware of the presence, Jake encounters horrible, repetitive murders of his former clients, whose tattoos expand on their bodies little by little until they kill their owners. His awareness of the evil does arrive but much too late. He has already engraved a flower on the back of his beloved woman. (OAK Mina)

Diretor

Peter BURGER

He has received critical acclaim for his short films Fishskin Suit, which won Best Drama at the TV Guide NZ Television Awards in 2002 and Turangawaewae, which was selected for Critic’s Week at Cannes Film Festival 2003. The Tattooist is director Peter Burger’s first feature film.