AllMovie

A confusing jumble of pseudo-Freudian psychobabble and softcore psychedelia, Sinthia: The Devil's Doll is certainly a bizarre nonlinear nightmare of a movie, but deeming it "surreal" might be giving director Ray Dennis Steckler too much credit. Hiding behind his "Sven Christian" alias, Steckler throws together a hodgepodge of flashbacks and dream sequences that will even test the patience of fans already acclimated to his haphazard style. After accidentally witnessing her parents in the throes of lovemaking, 12-year-old Cynthia Kyle (Shula Roan) murders them and burns down the house, only to be declared legally insane. Eight years later, her court-appointed psychiatrist struggles to cure her aberrant mental fixations. Intense psychotherapy sessions lead to explorations of Cynthia's dreams and fantasies, which fill the rest of the film and overlap into an incoherent muddle. Satanic orgies, whippings, and nude dancing are presided over by Lucifer (screenwriter Herb Robins). Tarot-card readers and lesbians offer advice, and a menacing beatnik in cheap orange greasepaint chases her along the beach. Ponderous, pretentious dialogue is uttered by naked actors lit by various colored gels, and assorted shots are superimposed over each other in a vain attempt at artistry. All this visual noise might be mind-bending in the proper mood, but it's ultimately pointless, and Roan's incessant shrieking of "Daddy! Daddy!" quickly becomes grating. At 78 long-winded minutes, Sinthia: The Devil's Doll is best left on the couch.