Michael_Elliott Sinthia: The Devil's Doll (1970) * 1/2 (out of 4) Ray Dennis Steckler's in the director's chair for this weird mix of incest, Satan and of course sex. In the film a young girl named Cynthia sees her mommy and daddy having sex. Cynthia has a thing for daddy so she brutally murders both parents. Flash-forward several years and she's involved with a Satanic cult. If you read any review for this film I'm sure the word "confusing" is going to be found. Yes, this movie doesn't make a bit of sense but I think some have been way too hard on it. Many have called this one of the worst movies ever made and many even went as far as to say it's the worst thing Something Weird Video ever released. None that statement is far from the truth because I thought there were some entertaining moments to be found here. Yes, on a technical level the film is quite the mess because it doesn't make a bit of sense and it really does seem as if the director doesn't know what he wants to do with the story. It bounces around with no rhyme or reason and it's nearly impossible to ever know where the thing is going to go next. Some might say this adds a surreal nature to the picture but I think if this is true then it was done on accident. Fans of Al Adamson's drive-in pictures from this era will be happy to see Gary Kent on hand here. Shula Roan plays the title character and while it's far from a good performance she at least keeps you slightly entertained. The film is full of all sorts of strange colors but the psychedelic approach doesn't always work. I will at least say there's plenty of nudity and strange sex scenes to help keep it moving. THe biggest problem is that there's just not enough story here to carry the 78-minute running time, which really starts to drag badly around the 50-minute mark.

lazarillo I have to take some exception with some of the other reviews. I don't think this is really any worse than any of Ray Dennis Steckler's other movies. True, it has far less of a plot, but given how stupid the plots of some of Steckler's other films are, that's not necessarily a liability. It also doesn't work very well as an erotic sex film, but that's not necessarily a liability either. Sex films are generally worthless and boring and usually little more than masturbation fodder. Even the ones from the 60's that are somewhat "erotic" can hardly hope to compete with the ones today, which are much more graphic and have better looking women (at least, if silicone breasts and anorexic-looking bodies really turn you on). But it's the weird, disturbing ones like this that are a lot more fun or interesting today--if not always necessarily for the reasons originally intended.This film is about a disturbed young girl who at twelve murdered her parents while they were having sex due to incestuous longings for her father. She burned down the house afterwards, but was rescued by the neighbors and was committed to an asylum where six years later she recounts the incident to her psychologist. Of course, it's also possible she was killed in the fire and consigned to hell. But whether she's crazy, or in fact actually in hell, the imagery is pretty much the same—psychedelic scenes of infernal orgies with lots of droning voice-over narration. It does get a little repetitive and sleep-inducing, but that's true of pretty much all sex films isn't it? Making the protagonist twelve years old at the beginning is definitely in pretty bad taste, but given that the voluptuous actress playing "Sinthia" isn't believable even as the eighteen-year-old she plays in the "present day" scenes, I'd just let that one go.This movie is currently available on a Something Weird DVD along with the Anton LaVey/Church of Satan "documentary" "Satanis", and I have to say I much prefer the psychedelic-styled fake satanic orgies of this film to the documentary-style "real" satanic orgies of LaVey and his followers in the co-feature (not to mention, having to put up with LaVey himself, an egotistical charlatan who spent thirty years laughing all the way to the bank with his "satanic" nonsense). This is not a great film by a long shot, but relative to Steckler's other films, to sex flicks in general, and to its co-feature "Satanis", it's not THAT bad.

Draconis Blackthorne I recently had the opportunity to view the second feature on the Satanis DVD entitled "Sinthia: The Devil's Doll", which is easily probably the worst movie I have ever seen, even with the nudity included! Adding more skin and sex would perhaps have been its saving grace, but alas...A young girl with a serious father-fixation comes upon her father and mother engaged in marital affairs, and proceeds to stab them both, burning the house down afterwards, subsequently being committed to an asylum until an evaluation can be held upon reaching legal age to determine whether or not she should be released into society. At the evaluation, a psychotherapist regresses her, launching her into a Jungian dream-world of orgies, a "Luciferian sex cult's" Bachannal, various mother-father projections, as well as a lesbian scene. The Lucifer character proclaims that "no matter where she goes, the servants of Lucifer will always follow." That she would eventually return and join the cult. Her "initiation" consists of a flogging while all present laugh at her pain, torment, and misery. It seems that she squeals "mommy, daddy!" at least once or twice every ten minutes, which does become rather tedious, thus losing its professed fetishistic appeal. On a couple of occasions, she materializes upon a beach where she must choose her path, is pursued by a red-faced mime, losing her clothing in the process.The Psychotherapist eventually snaps her out of her hypnogogic trance as her self-projection is on the verge of a breakdown, informing her that the only way to be rid of all frustration, confusion, and guilt, is to essentially relive the event of origin but change the outcome - that she would have to kill herself instead of her parents. So she enters the dark subconscious once again, committing suicide in that crucial moment, thus altering her memories. She awakens relieved and seemingly balanced. She thanks the Doctor and proceeds to step outside by an automobile driven by none other than her father! As she plants a deep kiss on him. {I presume this was done for shock effect, for he of course was murdered}.Rating: 1/5. Despite the pretty nude girl frolicking in the forest. Overall, this way out the street for mine! __________________In a section entitled "The Altar":* Supernatural TrailersThe Devil's Hand, House of Exorcism, Mark of The Devil: Part II, Meat Cleaver Massacre, Witchcraft '70.With the obvious exception of Witchcraft '70, which contains actual Satanic Rites conducted at The Black House along with an interview segment with Dr. LaVey, these consist of various previews of horror-themed presentations. * Satanic ShortsBritish Black Mass: In Britain, a film crew is supposedly "allowed" to witness a "Black Magic ceremony" through the window, because the "evil forces" conjured therein would strike the crew dead were they to set foot within the unhallowed grounds. Ring around the rosy commences, coupled with a supposed slaughtered chicken whose 'blood' is dripped upon the naked flesh of a nubile acolyte. Obviously, this is completely staged made for grimly piquant entertainment.My Tale Is Hot: A fella gets paid a visit from Old Scratch as he sits down in his living room easy chair to watch some innocuous program, which is "interrupted" by a salacious performance from a sexy young stripper, which is much more preferable in this writer's estimation! Sex Ritual of The Occult: Beginning as a three-part documentary-style film about "Witchcraft", a troupe of play actors "re-create" various traditions:1. Lapsing into ceremonial orgiastic practices under the guise of a "Black Mass", including a girl in a coffin with surrounding undulating naked bodies.2. Two homosexuals encounter each other in a misty dream-like setting {apparently on a park bench} - what this has to do with the Occult is rather unclear except that at the time this was released, homosexuality was still relatively "taboo" in mainstream society - probably included here for shock value.3. A supposed "Voodoo fertility rite" to regain the fecundity of a young warrior, which predictably erupts into an orgy. The most gratuitously amusing part of it all is probably "The End"...* Gallery of Sexploitation Ad Art with Exploitation AudioAn extensive and priceless slideshow of magazine covers and stills from various multimedia sinemaerotic productions. Quite an amusing perusal overall.

sirarthurstreebgreebling Dont get me wrong I love Stecklers films , "Rat Fink a Boo Boo" , "Thrill Killers" , "Wild Guitar" , "Super Cool" all have a pervading feel of fun and to be corny the "joy" of just making a film. But sadly "Sinthia" is one of his lapses into the adult movie genre. He has made sine full length hardcore films which have to be the most un-erotic scenes committed to film. It seems that "Sinthia" was his practice run for the lamentable pap that was to follow a dozen years later. The girl in question is having strange dreams and see's a lot of hackeyed hallucination sequences and people trying to look scarey with little more that painted faces and paper plates with hair. To be honest the plot didnt grab me at all and the film wanders between soft core orgy scenes (with hideous people) and running around on the beach. Its 100 % worse than his later films "The las vegas serial killer" and "The Chooper" (Blood Shack) and made me feel disappointed that from the same mind that gave me some of the original film I have ever seen came this run of the mill sort core trash. For archive value to fans of Steckler its a must , I was told for years before I saw it how bad it was and how that even I would hate it, but thats never put me off before but for once I have to say that im sorry I didnt listen to advice , but then again im glad I have seen it.