The flayed body of a woman is found on the streets of Berlin, spurring hardnosed police detective Minks (Christian Redl) to investigate rumours of an underground trade in tattoos. Blackmailing Marc (August Diehl), a young police-academy graduate with a passion for recreational drugs, into giving him some street cred, Minks uncovers a twilight world of body modification and tattoo collectors who aren't too picky about what happens to the donors once their skin has been peeled off....
Already being dubbed `The German Se7en' , Robert Schwentke's grubby clone gives new meaning to the term "skin flick". Deliberately taking the gruesome set-up as far as it can go, this effective thriller scores points with its grim and grimy setting, graphic morgue scenes and creepy atmosphere. It's just a shame that the climax never quite delivers on the outright nastiness it promises, settling for making your skin crawl instead of staining your memory with a lasting mark.
