The Tattooist

Thinking about getting a tattoo? Maybe you should watch The Tattooist first. Lasting a mere 1 minute 20 seconds including credits, this micro-short film takes you on a quick tour of a tattoo parlour on an ever-swerving camera under a lot of magenta lighting that foreshadows the blood-red visuals to jump out at you before your next breath.

Unsuspected customers are taken prisoners, drugged, tortured, mutilated, dragged by the hair across the floor. If you have the stomach for movies like the Hostel and Saw series, this one's for you.

One can't expect a very, very short film to dig into a deep narrative. Credit to director Michael Wong that under these limitations he has managed to build a kaleidoscope of disturbing imagery soaked in saturated colours that seem to bleed together to create a mosaic of visceral horror.

There's much we don't know. Who's this tattooist, why is he doing this and who are his victims?

This much we do know: The Tattooist functions as a trailer, a tease, an appetiser. It's a trove of ideas waiting to be fleshed out into a longer feature. There's no shortness of technical and visual confidence from Wong and his team. The mood and energy captured in a minute is a promise of sinister playfulness that will appeal to fans of the genre.

In this micro film, Wong shows us shots with great aesthetics, beautiful colors and lights accompanied with funky and cheesy music, that, at the end, is just a trick of a more deep, dark story. With just a little more of a minute, Wong is capable of disturbe us, and yet, making us want more.

As a 1 minute and 19-second trailer, The Tattooist hones directly in on those who enjoy and appreciate a gory horror. Leading you to wonder, like The Story of 90 Coins, what Wong's vision would be like if he produced a feature-length film? From what it appears, flinching and twisting your face because of the visuals is very likely. Also, taking note of his previous work, it pushes the idea that while the hook may be the sights, with each prisoner being tested, perhaps their individual stories will be equally as compelling.

Today we live in a day and age where the plot of a film can be condensed into a trailer and in such times, what if the film was the length of the trailer? Something Michael Wong has taken to heart with his micro short THE TATTOOIST.

Running in at just 80 seconds, there's a lot to digest. Is everything real? What's the narrative? Wow, did that just happen? All valid questions the quick cut film sees the audience asking and yet not letting them go long enough to miss the next frame. THE TATTOOIST is an interesting short, one that has no narrative yet gives enough away to allow the audience to make up their own mind. Does the latest customer become a victim of a sadistic human trafficking/torture network? Is the ink supernatural? Is this trauma bought on by the tattooist? Who knows, but one thing is for sure, in between the manic screams and sound akin to TETSUO, there is much more to uncover here that begs more to be seen of Michael Wong.

There's plenty of gore, and close up horror within the short, that unlike most movie trailers, this one perfectly balances itself between leaving the audience wanting more and enticing them with the fragments of a story yet to be told. We really do hoe to see a longer cut of THE TATTOOIST, something that feels very unique for the horror genre between the neon lights and blood drenched clientele held behind cells, there's enough mystery here to keep the momentum going for something special which is at the grasp of Wong.

This 1 minute 20 second "short" from director Micahel Wong is really more of a trailer or a proof of concept for a longer piece than it is a standalone film. Story-wise it has all the trappings of a standard horror flick - a deranged killer, pleading victims, and a tattoo parlor that hides a sinister secret. While the short itself lacks a narrative, it provides the viewer with a glimpse of what could be coming should Wong create a longer piece with these characters.

What sets this piece apart is beautiful cinematography while in the tattoo parlor set. A bright pink, purple, and blue color palette is a stark contract to the gray and brown of the Tattooist's industrial torture chamber. In these segments the camera is constantly moving, mirroring the energetic groove of the jazzy soundtrack. Unlike the generic industrial sets of the torture area, the shop feels fresh and full of possibilities for a vibrant environment for a longer piece.

I would surely check out a longer story with the characters from this short, but my hope would be for more of the bright colors and energy of the tattoo parlor and less of the standard gore from the torture chamber.