Killer Tattoo
Encyclopedia
Killer Tattoo is a 2001
Thai
action
-comedy film
written and directed by Yuthlert Sippapak
. It was the debut film by Yuthlert, and also was the feature-film debut for popular Thai
comedians Petchtai Wongkamlao
and Pongsak Pongsuwan
(playing an assassin who thinks he's Elvis Presley
).
.
Just released from prison, aging assassin
Bae Buffgun is offered a job – killing Bangkok
's police chief. Buffgun forms a team of killers, comprising his old partner, Ghost Rifle and two newcomers, Dog Badbomb, a short-tempered explosives expert and Elvis M-16, who's suffered some of trauma that makes him think he's Elvis Presley
.
Meanwhile, Thailand's most deadly assassin, Kit Silencer has also been hired to kill the top cop. Confusion ensues, and even though the chief is killed, the crime lord who hired the killers wants them all dead anyway.
All the hitmen have issues:
2001 in film
The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
Thai
Cinema of Thailand
The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by Francois-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited...
action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
-comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written and directed by Yuthlert Sippapak
Yuthlert Sippapak
Yuthlert Sippapak is a Thai film director, screenwriter and producer. He's best known for his genre-blending films Killer Tattoo and Buppah Rahtree .-Biography:...
. It was the debut film by Yuthlert, and also was the feature-film debut for popular Thai
Thai people
The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...
comedians Petchtai Wongkamlao
Petchtai Wongkamlao
Petchtai Wongkamlao, , is a Thai comedian, actor and film director. He is best known in Thailand by his stage name, Mum Jokmok ; and is a popular Thai television personality...
and Pongsak Pongsuwan
Pongsak Pongsuwan
Pongsak Pongsuwan is a Thai comedian and actor. He is best known in Thailand by his stage name, Theng Therdtherng .A popular comedian in Thai nightclubs and on television, Theng made his feature-film debut in Killer Tattoo, a 2001 action-comedy that was the directorial debut for Yuthlert Sippapak...
(playing an assassin who thinks he's Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
).
Plot
The scene is set sometime in the near future, after some type of apocalypse or war, and Thailand has been taken over by the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Just released from prison, aging assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
Bae Buffgun is offered a job – killing Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
's police chief. Buffgun forms a team of killers, comprising his old partner, Ghost Rifle and two newcomers, Dog Badbomb, a short-tempered explosives expert and Elvis M-16, who's suffered some of trauma that makes him think he's Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
.
Meanwhile, Thailand's most deadly assassin, Kit Silencer has also been hired to kill the top cop. Confusion ensues, and even though the chief is killed, the crime lord who hired the killers wants them all dead anyway.
All the hitmen have issues:
- Buffgun is guilt-ridden over abandoning his daughter years earlier.
- Ghost Rifle is haunted by the accidental shooting of his beautiful wife.
- Dog harbours a secret reason for his allegiance to Elvis.
- Elvis really believes he is Elvis Presley (and not an Elvis impersonatorElvis impersonatorAn Elvis impersonator is someone who impersonates or copies famed American musician Elvis Presley. Professional Elvis impersonators can work all over the world as entertainers, and such tribute acts are in great demand due to the unique iconic status of Elvis...
), and because the real Elvis didn't speak ThaiThai languageThai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
, Elvis M-16 is incapable of understanding the language and can only respond to EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
commands. But none of the other hitmen speak English. - Kit Silencer is driven by avenging the deaths of his parents, who were killed by a man with a trident tattoo on the inside of his right wrist. He checks everyone he kills or comes into contact with for that tattoo. Buffgun happens to be wearing a bandage over the exact spot on his wrist where a tattoo might be, so Kit suspects the older gunman.
Cast
- Suthep Po-ngamSuthep Po-ngamSuthep Po-ngam , also known by his stage name Thep Po-ngam, is a Thai comedian, actor, film director and screenwriter. He played the leader of a gang of inept hitmen in Killer Tattoo...
as Pae Buffgun - Somchai Kemglad as Kit Silencer
- Sornsutha Klunmalee as Ghost Rifle
- Petchtai WongkamlaoPetchtai WongkamlaoPetchtai Wongkamlao, , is a Thai comedian, actor and film director. He is best known in Thailand by his stage name, Mum Jokmok ; and is a popular Thai television personality...
as Dog Badbomb - Pongsak PongsuwanPongsak PongsuwanPongsak Pongsuwan is a Thai comedian and actor. He is best known in Thailand by his stage name, Theng Therdtherng .A popular comedian in Thai nightclubs and on television, Theng made his feature-film debut in Killer Tattoo, a 2001 action-comedy that was the directorial debut for Yuthlert Sippapak...
as Elvis M 16
Film festivals
- 2002 Seattle International Film FestivalSeattle International Film FestivalThe Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
- 2002 Moscow Film Festival
- 2002 Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival
- 2002 Stockholm International Film FestivalStockholm International Film FestivalThe Stockholm International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year in the second half of November...
- 2003 New York Asian Film FestivalNew York Asian Film FestivalThe New York Asian Film Festival was first held in 2002, growing out of the previous year's New York Korean Film Festival...