Soldat cyborg

At one point, they shoot one of the monsters in this so many times that he looks like he's dancing, waving his arms up and down. It almost looked like he was doing the "Robot". To add insult to injury, you could clearly see a thick root of cables coming from one of his feet that was obviously used to set off the bullet squibs. My God!

This is one of those movies that is so funny, you may not be able to watch it from lack of oxygen and blurred vision caused by tears. It is such a ripoff of Aliens that it's pretty awe inspiring. They stick a big cannon in this one poor monster's mouth and pull the trigger repeatedly, similar to when Hicks blasted an Alien to smithereens after jamming a shotgun in between it's drooling jaws and yelling, "Eat this!" There's even a scene set in airducts with the monsters chasing them. What I remember most about this was that the creatures posed almost no kind of threat. They walked around REALLY slowly and were really just there to get shot to pieces by the obligatory military hit squad. This is one bad movie that for some reason, gives me warm and fuzzy feelings. My interest was piqued by an ad I saw in Fangoria years ago for these really detailed rubber masks that they were selling. One of them was called "Syngenor" and looked really nice but it was a bit out of my price range. Then I found out that the mask was based on a character design from a movie and I decided that I had to see it! And then I did! And you know what? It was terrible! But funny also!

I sort of remember that water played a big part in this somewhere. And that in the movie, some researchers were designing these creatures to be the perfect soldiers or some other hoo-hah. It's bad alright but it's not that bad that it's unwatchable. I'm gonna go ahead and give this one big fat star and a half. Only out of sympathy and the fact that this movie has made me laugh to the point of getting internal damage do I spare it from a zero, which realistically, this chuck deserves.

RATING: * and a 1/2 out of *****

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.

My review was written in September 1990 after watching the movie on South Gate video cassette.

Serendipity is on the side of the horror film "Syngenor", a thriller about a robot warrior created to substitute for U. S. troops in fighting a Middle East war (how's that for topical?). VIdeo release should do well.

Though the picture is contemporary, it has the same central plot gimmick as the futuristic British film "Hardware". Syngenor (synthetic genetic organism) is the prototype cyborg created by Norton Cyberdyne Co. Because, as the firm's advertisement prophetically proclaims: "The next world war is predicted to be fought in the Middle East".

Like the metal monster in "Hardware", this shiny dude is designed to operate in a desert climate, and any '50s sci-fi fan will guess that water is the Achilles' heel of both beasties.

Starr Andreeff continues to impress as the feisty B-movie heroine, fighting to survive as her uncle's creation escapes from the lab to run amuck. The Syngenor is an interesting creation, a slimy black gill-man sort of moshntr that resembles the heavy in its creator Willaim Malone's "Alien-inspired film "Scared to Death" (1980).

Melanie Shatner (daughter of "Star Trek" Capt. Kirk) has a juicy role as the ditzy receptionist at the robot factory.

scientist engineers a group of genetically engineered cyborgs for use as "supersoldiers" to fight U.S. wars in the Middle East. However, things get ugly when the cyborgs malfunction and turn on their creators, escaping from the abandoned lab and stalking the halls of the Cyberdyne (Wasn't that stolen from "The Terminator"?) building, eating people and reproducing every 24 hours A-sexually. The main Syngenor, the Lizard-like monster spends most of the time slobbering and slowly stalking his prey, while the other types of Syngenor walk around roaring like Elephants and killing the Company's army (The "Soldiers" were the goofiest-looking clothes you'll ever see) spend most of their time running threw hallsways, while the company's insane CEO, David Gale, kills his co-workers. "Syngenor" is a low-budget monster movie that, without the presence of David Gale or the nifty-looking monsters, would have failed misserably. The monsters look cool and original for their budget, and David Gale's performance is hysterical--in fact, I'd go as far as saying that this is his best roll EVER, even beating "Re-animator". Over-all, a fair attempt at horror film-making, see it if only for gale. My rating for "Syngenor"- 6/10.

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.....