Sinyster (1996)

Genres - Horror  |   Sub-Genres - Slasher Film  |   Countries - United States  |  
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Review by Robert Firsching

Ronnie Sortor, who directed the bloody 1996 revenge film Ravage, returns with another low-budget crime/horror hybrid, and in this one the accent is definitely on the horror. This is one of the bloodiest films of 1998, and not for all viewers, but gorehounds are in for a treat. There's some sick humor revolving around the piles of gore-soaked body parts, and some mumbo jumbo about the kindred spirit shared by all killers, but Sortor never lets the events get too silly. Instead, he uses the black humor to maintain a gruesome charnel-house atmosphere which should please gore fans throughout the film. There's head-cleaving, gut-pulling, brain-splattering, limb-ripping, and all those other charming setpieces which make splatter-fans smile and most normal people vomit. But that's a good thing, because gore -- like any other film device -- is effective if done well. Sortor certainly does it well. Granted, the acting is strictly amateur-hour, and there isn't much plot to speak of, but nobody watches a film like this looking for moving characterizations. It's all about the red stuff, and Sortor lets it flow, drip, and spurt in abundance. As lead psycho Aaron asks the unsuspecting Lisa when he leads her inside the house, "You can smell it, can't you? The blood?" Indeed.