The opening scene in the serial killer thriller “Tattoo” already provides the first big moment of goosebumps: a frightened naked woman wanders the streets of Berlin at night – and when the camera captures her back, we are presented with a bloody horror image. A stranger ripped her skin off. The woman runs into an intersection and is promptly run over by a bus, which crashes and bursts into flames.
The remarkable feature film debut of the German director and screenwriter Robert Schwentke (‘The Captain’) got off to an explosive start, and he did not leave his mark after that either. His suspenseful and dark thriller, which is currently streaming on Netflix, does not shy away from comparison with Hollywood productions and sets its own accents instead of simply copying from the role models.
That’s what “Tattoo” is all about
Police academy graduate Marc Schrader (August Diehl) passed the final exam with a bang. Now he is looking for a quiet job in the IT department of the police, but things turn out differently: after a raid on a club where Schrader also sells drugs, the experienced inspector Minks (Christian Redl) takes him under the wing of the department Homicide. . Minks needs someone by his side who is familiar with the drug and red light environment.
Because his current case has it all: After finding several horribly disfigured corpses, the investigators learn that a serial killer is up to mischief in Berlin, who is after big tattoos. He skins his victims while they are still alive, kills them and sells the tattooed pieces of skin to wealthy collectors…
On the trail of “Seven”
It is no coincidence that Tattoo was compared to David Fincher’s seven-year-old masterpiece “Sieben” after it came out in 2002: the thrillers are not only comparable in terms of their character constellation and plot. Moreover, both films are imbued with an incredibly desolate, at times morbid atmosphere. Many of the dark sequences take place at night or in dark interiors. It’s raining cats and dogs outside.
Our FILMSTARTS review called the thriller’s basic mood “the lostness of the individual in a lightless, inhuman and life-hostile world.” In this world, the initially disinterested, sometimes naive Schrader has to survive – whether he likes it or not. The strong young actor August Diehl, already a successful mime artist in the theater at the time, plays an inquisitive, strikingly pale young cop who, despite his antics and mistakes, quickly grows into a character with whom he can identify.
He is assisted by the weatherproof Minks, who are not afraid of anything – tough and charismatic played by Christian Redl, who here plays one of his much too rare leading roles in German cinema productions. A classic, yet attractive combination of researchers, which becomes even more explosive when Schrader goes off on his own and meets Minks’ daughter Marie (Jasmin Schwiers).
Only the femme fatale remains somewhat superficial: the obscure art collector Maya Kroner (Nadeshda Brennicke) is not stingy with her bare skin and the use of her feminine charms, but remains a bit strange to us until the end. Even Maya’s maneuvers keep events unpredictable over long distances.
High tension instead of monotony
Given the steep suspense curve, ‘Tattoo’ is also well above the level of the average mainstream television thrillers that are mass-produced in this country – the somewhat predictable resolution doesn’t change that much. Yet there are parallels with the most popular German crime series: Ingo Naujoks, who once played the roommate of “Tatort” commissioner Charlotte Lindholm (Maria Furtwängler), can be seen as a tattooed junkie. And Joe Bausch, known from the crime scene in Cologne, plays a hitman with a spectacular exit.
In addition to the first-class direction and the screenplay peppered with clever twists, the aged serial killer thriller is technically in the forefront: cameraman Jan Fehse delivers some strong shots (such as a bird’s-eye view of a party audience) and the atmospheric soundtrack refines the gloomy basic atmosphere. However, you should bring a firm stomach: one of the most disgusting scenes is certainly the one in which the investigators receive an envelope made of bloody pieces of skin…
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Source : Film Starts
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
