Syngenor (1990)

Nick: "There's a goddamn syngenor chasing us!"
Det. Rosselli: "What the hell are you talking about?"

Genetically engineered monsters get out of control.
Starring: Mitchell Laurance, Starr Andreeff, David Gale, Charles Lucia, Riva Spier

Link to IMDB

This is sort-of a sequel to Scared to Death, but the monsters are the only similarities.

A big corporation has been busy making "synthetic genetic organisms" (syngenors for short,) to be used as super soldiers in the middle east. But, of course, problems arise when one escapes into the city and kills a man. A lady named Susan is the victim's niece, and now she's trying to find answers on why a monster killed her uncle.
When an intrepid reporter, Nick, hears about more murders at the corporate headquarters, he starts snooping around, trying to get a story on corruption. He and Susan inevitably meet and realize they have the same goals, so they decide to work together.

Susan                                      Nick

Carter Brown

Carter Brown is the president of the corporation, and the man in charge of the syngenor project. Along with his corporate lackeys, Carter's making life difficult for Susan and Nick. He's not allowing them access to any info, and hiding all the evidence of the syngenors from the public.
The story meanders around for quite some time, giving us some rather tame intrigue, but Carter is a master at scheming and he's always one step ahead of Nick and Susan's attempts at finding what the syngenors are all about.

One of the best aspects of the movie that kept me hooked was David Gale's performance. He delivers an intense and peculiar depiction of Carter Brown's slow descent into madness as he uses the syngenor technology on himself.

"I can't afford to be a villain. I do much better as a hero." - Carter

Hi

The overall presentation has a "made for TV" feel to it, which is actually an improvement from the super sloppy first movie, although there's very little gore or violence here despite the R rating. We do get to see a lot more of the syngenor monsters this time, and they do look pretty neat and creepy.

Although this felt much more like a traditional movie than the first time we met the syngenors, it can only be appreciated for what it is... A low budget monster movie, full of 80's cliches and accidental humour. That isn't really a problem for me, but the movie does force you to wait until the last 30 minutes for things to truly start getting exciting.


Be sure not to miss:
- In the first movie, syngenors thrived on water. Now they're allergic to it... Sure, why not!?
- The security guard, Donnie, was probably the coolest person in the movie.
- "And I want the goddamn air-conditioner fixed!"
- Rats enough!

Internet review:
"It's really dumb, bizarre and oddly charming." - Deliria

Should I watch it?
Not essential viewing, except for David Gale fans.

Where can I find it?
Links here.

Syngenor gets...