A scientist engineers a group of genetically engineered creatures for use as "supersoldiers" to fight U.S. wars in the Middle East. However, things get ugly when the creatures malfunction an... Read allA scientist engineers a group of genetically engineered creatures for use as "supersoldiers" to fight U.S. wars in the Middle East. However, things get ugly when the creatures malfunction and turn on their creators.A scientist engineers a group of genetically engineered creatures for use as "supersoldiers" to fight U.S. wars in the Middle East. However, things get ugly when the creatures malfunction and turn on their creators.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
Kenneth Zavayna
- Sam Krebs
- (as Ken Zavayna)
Julia Kruis
- Candy
- (as Julie Kris)
Heaven Stellar
- Brandy
- (as Kate Romero)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
I love cheap creature feature or monster movies. I really do, no matter how cheap they are as long as they are entertaining.
"Syngenor" wasn't. It started out OK but as the movie went on I find myself paying less and less attention to the screen. Creature design is interesting and cool looking, but that's probably the most interesting about the movie.
I wouldn't complain too much about acting, because I didn't really expect some excellent performances in these kind of movie, but David Gale really went over-the-top even more then his usual self.
What I find really funny is monster concept itself. It's suppose to be indestructible bio-engineered super-soldier that's half machine, half organic, that can reproduce itself every 24h that would replace American soldiers on the battlefield. Yet, creature seems to easily goes down by shotgun-to-the-face and water!? I find that incredibly funny, because for a super-soldier it has two major weaknesses: firearms and water.
A semi-sequel to cult movie "Scared to Death" from early '80s, but you can watch it as stand alone movie.
"Synapse" released this on DVD (along with it's mother movie), which has some bonus features. So if it's your coup of tea, go for it, but I think "Syngenor" makes a better trailer then a movie.
"Syngenor" wasn't. It started out OK but as the movie went on I find myself paying less and less attention to the screen. Creature design is interesting and cool looking, but that's probably the most interesting about the movie.
I wouldn't complain too much about acting, because I didn't really expect some excellent performances in these kind of movie, but David Gale really went over-the-top even more then his usual self.
What I find really funny is monster concept itself. It's suppose to be indestructible bio-engineered super-soldier that's half machine, half organic, that can reproduce itself every 24h that would replace American soldiers on the battlefield. Yet, creature seems to easily goes down by shotgun-to-the-face and water!? I find that incredibly funny, because for a super-soldier it has two major weaknesses: firearms and water.
A semi-sequel to cult movie "Scared to Death" from early '80s, but you can watch it as stand alone movie.
"Synapse" released this on DVD (along with it's mother movie), which has some bonus features. So if it's your coup of tea, go for it, but I think "Syngenor" makes a better trailer then a movie.
Sure, from the movie's cover, then I wasn't really expecting a whole lot, and the movie's title didn't really do much to sell the movie either. It was definitely something that was just oozing with early 1990s cheese. And that was exactly what I was expecting from the 1990 movie "Syngenor" as I sat down to watch it for the first time in 2022.
Writers Michael Carmody and Brent V. Friedman managed to put together a storyline that was classic early 1990s cheese, so in that account they didn't botch. However, in terms of "Syngenor" being a wholesome sci-fi horror movie, well don't go betting your last dollar on it.
The storyline in "Syngenor" was generic, so much that it was bordering on actually being laughable. The storyline was somewhat of a swing and a miss in terms of entertaining me, yet I managed to endure and sit through the entire ordeal.
The special effects in the movie were so-so. I mean, the syngenor creatures were just obviously people inside rubber suits, inarticulate rubber suits, mind you. And that just took away from the horror element of the movie, and sort of made it feel more like a spoof on the "Alien" movie.
As for the acting in the movie, well it was adequate, but you're not in for any grand theatrical experience. There are some familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of David Gale, Mitchell Laurance and Jeff Doucette.
All in all, I hadn't been missing out on any grand sci-fi horror experience here with "Sygenor". And it is definitely not a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend horror or sci-fi fans to rush out and get to watch.
My rating of "Syngenor" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.
Writers Michael Carmody and Brent V. Friedman managed to put together a storyline that was classic early 1990s cheese, so in that account they didn't botch. However, in terms of "Syngenor" being a wholesome sci-fi horror movie, well don't go betting your last dollar on it.
The storyline in "Syngenor" was generic, so much that it was bordering on actually being laughable. The storyline was somewhat of a swing and a miss in terms of entertaining me, yet I managed to endure and sit through the entire ordeal.
The special effects in the movie were so-so. I mean, the syngenor creatures were just obviously people inside rubber suits, inarticulate rubber suits, mind you. And that just took away from the horror element of the movie, and sort of made it feel more like a spoof on the "Alien" movie.
As for the acting in the movie, well it was adequate, but you're not in for any grand theatrical experience. There are some familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of David Gale, Mitchell Laurance and Jeff Doucette.
All in all, I hadn't been missing out on any grand sci-fi horror experience here with "Sygenor". And it is definitely not a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend horror or sci-fi fans to rush out and get to watch.
My rating of "Syngenor" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.
I could have sworn the box said this was a horror movie. Syngenor is an utterly unimpressive piece of sci-fi trash. It has all the lousy acting, POOR continuity, and cheap special effects you've come to expect from movies like this. According to this movie, people react to fear by having sex. But what I wouldn't give to own a Deathrattle.....
Not completely a direct sequel to William Malone's 1981 "Scared to Death", but "Syngenor" sees the return of Malone's alien creation (this time there's even more and a new creation to boot as well). As a low-budget, late-night b-grade offering, "Syngenor" is actually very well pulled off. I was expecting it to look much cheaper. It remains trashy fun throughout, namely due to the spontaneously intense and ham-fisted performance of David Gale. You could never tire watching this guy perform! It might be his show, but the rest the performances do shape up rather nicely. A delightful Starr Andreeff and snappy Mitchell Laurance agreeably work off each other. Riva Spier is enticingly manipulative. Also showing up is Melanie Shatner (William's Daughter) and character actor Lewis Arquette.
Carter Brown is the CEO of Norton Cyberdyne, a corporation that deals with military defence technology. His latest creation under the project name "Dark Skies" is that of some genetically made super-soldiers known as Syngenor --- Synthesized Genetic Organism. However problems start occurring when one of them is released from its basement enclosure to leave a bloody aftermath, which involves the death of their original creator Dr. Valentine. Growing increasingly paranoid that somebody (within) is trying to knock him from his perch; Brown's sanity soon begins to spin out of control. Also he has to deal with a pesky news reporter and Valentine's daughter.
Pulpy hokum, which has many dumb and unintentionally humorous qualities but in the end that's what makes it. Really it could have been more enjoyable than it was. The plot is nothing new (by starting off rather mild-mannered and then transcending into demented craziness) and the script is sub-standard, but bestowed a conceptual base of satirical barbs and tongue-in-cheek sparks. The tightly knitted execution at times was a bit shoddy (with some cheaply staged action --- like the onslaught in the basement involving an oddly dressed security squad), but the pacing keeps on the move and the optical / special effects (done by Robert and Dennis Skotak) and make-up stand up better than you would think. The Syngenor designs (a man in a suit with an amatronic head) look quite decent, as they're crafted with specific details. Although when they go after their prey, it can be rather laughable with their slow movements as they dawdle around waving their arms. Super-soldiers? Locked away in the basement? The feature was mainly filmed in the Ambassador Hotel, in Los Angeles which has an infamous history. Some moments have an atmospheric edge, while other sequences are truly devoid of it. Composers Steve Rucker and Thomas Chase provide a typically unhinged music score.
Slightly enjoyably low-end creature-feature oddity that's brought to life thanks to David Gale.
Carter Brown is the CEO of Norton Cyberdyne, a corporation that deals with military defence technology. His latest creation under the project name "Dark Skies" is that of some genetically made super-soldiers known as Syngenor --- Synthesized Genetic Organism. However problems start occurring when one of them is released from its basement enclosure to leave a bloody aftermath, which involves the death of their original creator Dr. Valentine. Growing increasingly paranoid that somebody (within) is trying to knock him from his perch; Brown's sanity soon begins to spin out of control. Also he has to deal with a pesky news reporter and Valentine's daughter.
Pulpy hokum, which has many dumb and unintentionally humorous qualities but in the end that's what makes it. Really it could have been more enjoyable than it was. The plot is nothing new (by starting off rather mild-mannered and then transcending into demented craziness) and the script is sub-standard, but bestowed a conceptual base of satirical barbs and tongue-in-cheek sparks. The tightly knitted execution at times was a bit shoddy (with some cheaply staged action --- like the onslaught in the basement involving an oddly dressed security squad), but the pacing keeps on the move and the optical / special effects (done by Robert and Dennis Skotak) and make-up stand up better than you would think. The Syngenor designs (a man in a suit with an amatronic head) look quite decent, as they're crafted with specific details. Although when they go after their prey, it can be rather laughable with their slow movements as they dawdle around waving their arms. Super-soldiers? Locked away in the basement? The feature was mainly filmed in the Ambassador Hotel, in Los Angeles which has an infamous history. Some moments have an atmospheric edge, while other sequences are truly devoid of it. Composers Steve Rucker and Thomas Chase provide a typically unhinged music score.
Slightly enjoyably low-end creature-feature oddity that's brought to life thanks to David Gale.
Total & utter trash, this moronic low budget Sci-Fi flick about a genetically engineered army robot that reproduces itself by laying eggs (!) and naturally turns against its creators before it's even properly finished. In some desperate attempts to thicken the unoriginal plot, there's the lame sub plot about a nosy journalist and his ugly girlfriend going undercover in the company and the awkward story about the Corporate Executive (David Gale from "Re-Animator" fame) who injects the veins in his neck with the same liquids as the robots need in able to function. "Syngenor" is nearly unendurable nonsense, made on a shoestring budget and featuring no redeeming elements whatsoever, apart from the over-the-top performance of David Gale. The supposedly extraordinary killer robots, meant to replace human soldiers to fight wars in the Middle East, are actually very deficient machines! They can't deal with fire or water, and they're pretty easy to kill if you just aim well or hit them over the head hard enough. On top of that, they only last 24 hours before incubating their own successors. And these faulty metal things are supposed to be the future of the US Army? He's dead now, but I'm sure Saddam Houssein wouldn't have been impressed. The first half is still remotely amusing, since the inept dialogs and cheesy massacres supply the film with a handful of chuckles, but then the whole thing gets too stupid to even smile at. The climax battles are exaggeratedly retarded, with a very Terminator-esquire sequence in which the leftover pieces of one of the robots melt together with human tissue, resulting in an ultra-hideous robot-woman creature. What the hell was that? My rating of 3 out of 10 is extremely generous, mainly just because David Gale was a cool dude who never got the good roles he deserved, apart from once in "Re-Animator".
Did you know
- TriviaProducer Jack F. Murphy saw the original Scared to Death (1980) and was so impressed with the monster that he wanted to make another film utilizing the same monster design. However since the first film was so a low-budget and rarely seen he wanted to distance this sequel from it in order not to alienate a new potential audience that never heard of the first film. This is why there is no plot connection to "Scared to Death" other than the same monster design.
- Quotes
Carter Brown: Hold me, please hold me.
- ConnectionsFollows Scared to Death (1980)
- How long is Syngenor?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content