The Tattooist

Lore & Background

The plot follows Jake Sawyer, a global wanderer and tattooist who explores ethnic themes in his designs. While visiting Singapore for a trade show, he steals an ancient Samoan tattoo tool. After flying to New Zealand, he meets Sina, a Samoan woman, and begins learning the Samoan tradition of pe'a. The stolen tool unleashes an avenging spirit that targets all customers Jake has tattooed since the theft. Jake must find a way to save Sina and himself when she receives a tattoo from him.

Reader's Guide

The Tattooist is significant as the first official co-production between New Zealand and Singapore, marking a milestone in cross-border film collaboration. Its critical reception was mixed to negative, with common criticism focused on the film's pacing. Reviewers from DreadCentral felt the plot was too padded and the concept too thin for the 90-minute length. Bloody Disgusting expressed frustration that the film could have been 'something fresh and original but instead mimicked a bunch of terrible films before it.' Shock Till You Drop criticized an overabundance of backstory and exposition. In a positive review, David Johnson of DVD Verdict called it 'a frantic, messy, nasty little horror flick' worth checking out. The film's legacy lies in its role as a pioneering co-production and its exploration of Samoan tattoo traditions within a horror framework.

Did You Know?

• Principal photography began on 16 September 2006 in Auckland, New Zealand, primarily at Studio West in West Auckland.
• The soundtrack includes music by The Mint Chicks, King Kapisi, and Don McGlashan, with a score composed by Peter Scholes.
• The film is not the first in a series of official co-productions between New Zealand and Singapore; the first NZ-Singapore co-production was 'The Ferryman' (2007), released earlier in the same year.
• The cast does not include Timothy Balme as Jake's Father or Matthew Ridge as Graham; neither actor appears in the film.