While the cover of Synapse Films' recently-issued Special Edition DVD of Syngenor reminded me of Alien, the first half of the movie itself reminded me of my pre-Internet days. I'd randomly grab 3-4 videos to rent from the 99-cent shelves -- one from the science fiction section, one from the horror section, one from the action section -- and pop each one into my trusty VCR, watching on my 13-inch TV until I got bored and then popping the next one in.
With that mindset, I had Syngenor on auto-pilot ... it seemed like a fairly typical late 80s/early 90s "evil corporation exploits science for profit, creating monster soldiers that run amuck killing people," kind of a riff on Robo-Cop and what have you ... and then David Gale (the older evil doctor in Re-Animator, here playing the corporation's CEO) gave a really twisted line reading that sounded like it didn't belong in that scene, and I started to wake up, and then he did something completely different but just as bizarre in the next scene he was in, and I was fully awake ... and then Gale was completely, brilliantly demented -- but insane in a different way -- in each of his remaining scenes, and the rest of the movie got kick-started to another level with jokes and blood and a more self-mocking attitude ...
And I had to watch it again.
To be clear, Syngenor is not an undiscovered classic; it's probably still best appreciated while downing a six-pack of beer or playing drinking games. The first half is still pretty tough sledding, not so much bad as mediocre and stiff as it sets a familiar plotline (the creatures can reproduce asexually every 24 hours, they can only live by sucking down human spinal fluid, the corporation tests them out and then "accidentally" unleashes them to see if they can do what they're supposed to do, our heroes try to stop them) into motion. Once things start to loosen up, though, it's much more enjoyable.
To recap, here are its merits:
- David Gale, fabulous, completely unhinged David Gale, whose corporate executive calmly dismisses the death of a P.R. executive ("they're expendable") at the hands of one of his company's creations before he goes completely nuts. Sadly, the actor died just a year later.
- The spunky girl-next-door charm of Starr Andreeff as our heroine, the niece of a brilliant scientist (Lewis Arquette) who's determined to uncover the nefarious activites of Evil Corporation.
- The breezy TV appeal of Mitchell Laurance as a cocky reporter.
- Melanie Shatner (Bill's daughter) as a summer intern; she's a quick learner, but not quick enough to avoid (SPOILER!!!) something bad in the basement. Let's just say she's shocked by what she finds.
- Brief bare breasts by a bit player (who suggested going topless herself).
- Hilariously uncertain body language by the incredibly slow-moving Syngenors (SYNthesized GENetic ORganism).
- A wisecracking African-American security guard (Roy Fegan).
- An unbelievably romantic love scene late in the movie.
- An odd, unconvincing dream sequence.
- Heads shot up.
- Blood splatter on walls.
- Special visual effects by Robert and Dennis Skotak (Aliens, The Abyss).
- Filmed on location at the then shuttered and supposedly-haunted Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles (where RFK was shot).
- Did I mention David Gale?
By the end of the movie, I felt affectionate and indulgent toward the cast and crew, way out of proportion to the relative quality of the movie. That must be the real secret formula of Syngenor: making me fall in love with cheesy 90s b-movies all over again.
DVD details
The picture looked splended on my small HDTV monitors. Fairly spotless and clean, as should be hoped from a 1990 release. Four audio tracks are included: English DD 5.1, English DS 2.0, French, and Spanish.
All the special features were evidently created in 2003 for the Elite Entertainment DVD edition.
An audio commentary with Starr Andreeff, writer Brent V. Friedman, and producer Jack Murphy is informative and chatty. They fall into the common trap of commenting on the action, as though the viewer hasn't seen the movie before -- probably because they themselves hadn't seen it in years. Murphy takes the lead, with the others filling in with their observations.
Four "featurettes" are included: "David Gale at Tokyo Fantastic Film Festival" (8 minutes of home video footage from the 1990 visit, narrated by producer Murphy, including post-screening comments by Gale on Re-Animator), "Publicity Photo Shoot" (2 minutes of behind-the-scenes home video footage), "Doug Beswick's Creature Shop" (home video footage explaining how the molds designed by William Malone from an earlier film he directed, Scared to Death, were adapted), and "David Gale Audition" (intense! he nailed it).
Five original theatrical trailers (Syngenor, Dark Forces, Strange Behavior, Thirst, Patrick), photo and publicity gallery (publicity book, behind-the-scenes set photos, creature shots, Japanese sales material, and so forth, nicely extensive), and 11 filmographies (credit listings) for the cast and chief creative crew round out the package.
Recent Comments