Synopsis
Marc Schrader, a rookie cop caught red-handed with drugs in a police raid of an illegal rave, joins a homicide investigation conducted by Chief Inspector Minks. The victim is a naked young woman with the skin stripped off her back, killed as she staggered into traffic. As Schrader and Minks investigate the murder, the case is complicated by a finger found in the stomach of the victim. Forensic examination proves the finger belongs to Nobert Günzel, who was previously convicted of rape and assault. The police raid Günzel’s residence, and discover a blood-stained table with restraints and bits of human flesh in his basement. They also find video equipment and preserved, tattooed skin from the victim’s back. Soon, they found dead bodies buried in the garden. Günzel then goes missing.
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Cast
- August DiehlMarc Schrader
- Christian RedlMinks
- Nadeshda BrennickeMaya Kroner
- Johan LeysenFrank Schoubya
- Ilknur BahadirMeltem
- Joe BauschGünzel
- Fatih CevikkolluDix
- Florian PanznerPoscher
- Jasmin SchwiersMarie Minks
- Gustav Peter WöhlerScheck
Recommendations
- 80
L.A. Weekly
Indulging his taste for Grand Guignol and the stylistically baroque, Schwentke never quite overplays his hand, though his occasional lapses into visual extravagance can be irritating, and the result is a nasty, intelligent and complex thriller. - 80
Los Angeles Times
The film is an engrossing and original police procedural of bleak, steel-gray images and high style. But be warned: as part of its complex, ever-unfolding plot, it is punctuated with some grisly images. - 80
The New York Times
A grim, disquieting mood piece. - 75
New York Post
A blood- freezing German thriller, a very stylish variation on "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Seven." - 70
Variety
Slick, grisly and determinedly umbral, German cop thriller Tattoo is a largely effective "Se7en" wannabe that gradually develops its own character after an over-derivative start. - 63
Boston Globe
Maybe Tattoo is creepy and stylized enough to pull you along anyway, but if you like your thrillers to dig below the familiar epidermis, look elsewhere. - 60
The A.V. Club
Unlike so many "Seven" followers, it makes its missteps memorably, and offers a variety of stylistic rewards by way of compensation. - 60
Empire
Delivers an effective double-sting ending.
