The Tattooist

Foreign horror films have been pushing the envelope for along time, first the British were doing it in the 70s, then the Asian cinema came alive and pushed the audience to the edge of the abyss and sometimes over the edge. Now even though the Asian cinema has continued to produce wonderful pieces of work, there are some film makers that are beginning to imitate their style and doing a very good job of it. With solid acting, swift directing and lovely location shots, that at times take your breath away the audience is taken on a terrifying ride that they won't soon forget.
After a talented tattooist steals an ancient Samoan tattoo tool every client he tattoos start to die with their tattoos growing and their blood turning into ink. Jason Behr, who starred in the TV series Roswell, plays the American tattoo artist, who with his co-star Mia Blake carry this story to a level that makes the audience want to see more. The use of reflections in mirrors and windows helps increase the creepiness of the evil spirit in the story and the CGI effects for the bleeding ink are just disturbing. The suspense in the story is well calculated and it flows right to the very end, and once the audience reaches the conclusion of the story its left breathless but satisfied.
Even though this was a direct to DVD film it had the capability to have been released in the theater, some of the effects that were used would have looked great on the big screen. This film is not for the faint of heart or anyone on the borderline of thinking of getting a tattoo, yet it is interesting to see different techniques that are used to make a tattoo some of the frightening pieces come when the tattoos start to bleed across the bodies. With the solid acting and directing this film is by far one of the better direct to DVD films I've seen in a long time, in a horrific kind of way its enjoyable and suspense, well worth the time to watch.