Tattoo
American Vitagraph | Release Date: July 4, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
3
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
While Tattoo borrows heavily from both "Seven" and "The Silence of the Lambs," it manages to maintain both a level of sophisticated intrigue and human-scale characters that suck the audience in. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
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. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
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. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen Holden
A grim, disquieting mood piece. Read full review
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Well acted, moodily shot and tautly written, this Tattoo may feel like you've seen some of it (or its ilk) before. Still, its haunting images get under the skin, leaving an indelible impression. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
A blood- freezing German thriller, a very stylish variation on "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Seven." Read full review
70
VarietyDerek Elley
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. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJanice Page
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. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
Unlike so many "Seven" followers, it makes its missteps memorably, and offers a variety of stylistic rewards by way of compensation. Read full review
60
EmpireKim Newman
Delivers an effective double-sting ending. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Overall this is an assured piece of genre filmmaking that delivers the goods so stylishly it hardly matters that they aren't fresh. Read full review
20
Village VoiceDavid Ng
This plodding serial-killer procedural grafts hand-me-down malevolence onto a standard rookie-veteran police yarn, the results of which yield nary a fright, let alone a goose pimple. Read full review
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