The thing to bear in mind about Cynthia is that it is a horror comedy. That becomes obvious from the very first moments of the film, but it may not be so obvious from the blurb and poster/cover art. And it is sometimes an enjoyably wild horror comedy, although the bloodshed and gore never matches the level of the humour.
Scout Taylor-Compton and Kyle Jones play Robin and Michael, a couple desperately trying to have a child. The good news is that they succeed. The bad news is that there’s something else there, a mass of excess tissue that will be disposed of by the hospital. That’s the plan anyway. It’s just a large cyst. But that messy lump (the titular Cynthia) wants to live, even if that means she has to kill others.
Written by Robert Rhine, this is a silly “killer kid” movie that knows how silly that idea is, especially when the child is a complete newborn, and decides to use it as a framework for a number of increasingly silly encounters (there’s a cameo from Bill Moseley that has to be seen to be disbelieved). The performances are often pitched between terrible and odd, but the film is helped by the cute and mis-shapen design of Cynthia, a statement underlining the tone of everything.
Directors Devon Downs and Kenny Gage (I have seen one other film from them, it was nowhere near as much fun as this) make the most of a script that uses some potentially sensitive topics for creating absurd scenarios. Whether it is the difficulty of trying to conceive, the journey of self-discovery that has people eventually becoming comfortable with their sexuality, or doing whatever it takes to protect a child, no matter what “mistakes” they make along the way, Cynthia is gleeful about it all. It is noticeably strange though, with so much being fair game, and a seemingly enjoyable lack of worry about people being offended by the content here, that the film feels at its most prudish when shying away from two gay characters about to kiss. Maybe it was just coincidental, maybe it was a joke that didn’t work for me, but it felt like the only time the directors seemed “squeamish”, for want of a better word.
Taylor-Compton is game enough in her role, and Jones is a lot of fun alongside her, the two often bickering like a couple mired in a depressing soap opera plot. Rebecca Marshall lends decent support, playing Jane, the sister of our lead character, and Sid Haig has fun in the role of a cop investigating numerous suspicious deaths. There are some other fun little performances, but the bulk of the praise should go to the people puppeteering Cynthia, a creation that reminded me slightly of Glen/Glenda from Seed Of Chucky.
Although rough around the edges, and full of moments that wallow in crudity, Cynthia is made with just enough polish to elevate it above a lot of cheaper, and schlockier, movies. The humour will annoy as many people as it amuses, but I would still recommend giving it a go, especially if you’re not easily offended. The highlights of the third act make it worth your while.
6/10
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