GHOST RIG

A group of environmentalists break into an oil platform about to be decommissioned, but to their great surprise, they find the place completely deserted. The only way to understand what happened to the workers is hidden in a video recording found near a corpse, from which they learn that a malevolent force forced the men to abandon the platform by swimming. That mysterious malevolent force still lurks on the structure and begins to possess and then kill the new guests. The biggest flaw of "Devil's Tattoo" is the complete lack of originality. Everything starts like one of the many more or less horrific thrillers that have an oil station in the middle of the ocean as their setting; in this case, we can certainly mention "Il terrore viene dal passato" and "Proteus," two mediocre horrors that center their interest on a monstrous creature that decimates the characters. Then "Devil's Tattoo" takes another path and, instead of sea monsters and mutants, decides to call on the Devil himself, making physical contact the means of transmitting demonic possession. At this point, it is natural to think of other films like "Il tocco del male" and "Long Time Dead," although the film from which "Devil's Tattoo" draws the most inspiration is "La Cosa" by John Carpenter. In short, from this brief summary of references and quotes, one can infer how this film makes a lack of originality its banner. Yet this 2003 English movie does not leave completely unsatisfied after viewing. We are in the field of low budget and home video distribution (at least in Italy), the status of predestined mediocrity is always looming, and the film does not offer many highlights to be remembered, but it does not represent an unpleasant viewing, and some aspects are certainly interesting. Overlooking the first monotonous 20 minutes, in which the various characters do nothing but wander with torches in the darkness of the deserted oil station, the pace then becomes decidedly tight, and in the less than 90 minutes of duration, many events occur that revolve around the theme of "demonic possession." What is shown with greater insistence is the distrust toward the other that is created among the characters: once the cause of the incidents and the supernatural implication are discovered, the group members will begin not to trust each other anymore since anyone could be the Evil. In reality, the state of distrust and betrayals had entered the scene even before the devil put his paw in it, showing a group that was already uncohesive from the start and inclined to the non-pacific confrontation dictated by the desire for leadership inherent in too many characters. In a precarious situation, Evil does not have a hard time taking root and, carried by the bite of a rat as if it were an infectious disease, begins to infect the host body, killing it slowly. Among identity tests and unsuspected infected, the film also manages to create a good final twist, handling the characters in an unexpected and not entirely banal way. As often happens in these minor productions, the direction has no particular merits, and Julian Kean, who also holds the roles of screenwriter and producer, is visibly making his debut. The actors are not exactly from the Actor Studio, and the only one who seems able to handle his character properly is Jaason Simmons ("Frankenstein and Werewolf Reborn"), in the role of the paraplegic Vincent. In short, "Devil's Tattoo" is nothing exceptional, and it places itself just above the average of the many home video products that infest our video stores month after month. It leaves nothing to the viewer; rather, it is easily forgotten, but it is still an alternative to spend an hour and a half of leisure. The rating has been rounded up.