Sleekly shot German serial killer movie gets by for most of its length on style and the original and creepy millieu of tattoo collectors--people who display stretched out skin on their walls like paintings. The problem is that an audience familiar with the serial killer genre will likely find Tattoo very predictable and the script takes a few annoying shortcuts. For instance, it's painfully obvious very early in the film who is likely behind the murders, but the police never even seem to consider this person a suspect in spite of the fact that she's an art dealer and knows a hell of a lot about tattoo art, which is not the normal area of expertise for gallery owners. If that's not suspicious enough she first turns up at the apartment of one of the victims shortly after the murder even though she claims not to have spoken to her former friend in years. Amazingly the police never treat her as a suspect or even bother to check out her story about the death of a famous tattoo artist in New York until the very end of the film. Tattoo borrows heavily from two much better serial killer movies--Seven and the Korean flick Tell Me Something, which managed to not telegraph its surprise ending in the first twenty minutes and not make its protagonist cop look like a complete idiot for failing to figure out who the real murderer was. Still, Tattoo is a watchable enough example of the genre if you're in the mood for a serial killer movie. Just don't expect too much.

I've seen Tattoo in a sneak preview and i think its pretty bad. The story has too many flaws and the dialogue is awful. If you like seeing dead bodies and other disturbing pictures without a good story behind, then go into this movie. But please dont compare this one to David Finchers Seven.

"Tattoo" is a first class macabre psychological horror movie / thriller from director Robert Schwentke. From the start, its cold colour palette and distanced camera-work create a dark and sinister atmosphere. Nightclub life in the world of "Tattoo" appears depressing and emotionless. This is a world where there is little laughter, only pain.

Schwentke manages to create an on-screen world where the fantastic events of this tale seem believable. Inspired by the German expressionist movement, it's a fantastic achievement and although comparisons will always be made with Fincher's "Se7en", I think "Tattoo" is the superior film.

The cast are excellent. August Diehl plays the young cop who is blackmailed into joining Christian Redl on the grittier side of police work. Diehl's first case is the murder of a young woman who was into self-mutilation and who died shortly after biting off a man's finger...and swallowing it. The beautiful Nadeshda Brennicke plays Maya Kroner whose secrets take the story in an exciting and unpredictable direction.

While the subject of people being murdered for their tattoos is not new (Roald Dahl's short-story "Skin" covers the same ground), the film's plot is gripping and effectively told.

After viewing this film shortly after "Antikörper" and "Kontroll," it would appear that some of the best psychological horror films of the noughties are coming out of Europe. Rich on atmosphere and slightly other-worldly, these films are a delight to watch.

9 out of 10.