Cynthia is a horror film about the ‘perfect’ couple and their desperate obsession to have a child which descends into a terrifying dark comedy.

Robin ( Scout Taylor-Compton ) and Michael ( Kyle Jones ) are desperate to have a child, resorting to expensive experimental treatments and a strictly-regimented sex schedule to maximize their chances. The struggle to conceive has placed considerable weight on their relationship, with Michael resorting to spending his evenings at the bar to deal with the stress, leading to Robin suspecting him of being unfaithful. Everything changes when one morning, Robin gets the good news she’s looking for. The only problem is that along with the child, she’s also developed what seems to be a massive tumor and, in the greatest twist since Kindergarten Cop, it’s not a tumor.

That’s right, writer/actor/producer Robert “Corpsy” Rhine and the good people at Girls and Corpses, a completely real magazine that’s exactly what it says it is, have created a spiritual successor to Frank Hennenlotter’s 1982 classic, Basket Case. Much like that film, Cynthia features a bloodthirsty yet sympathetic walking teratoma, but where that film weaves an already-developed relationship between the twins throughout its narrative, this film feels more at odds with itself. The A and B plots, the couple navigating the trials of raising their normal child and the murderous shenanigans of the surprisingly-mobile Cynthia, do intersect as their proximity to her developing body count starts to raise suspicion but up until the climax, these two aspects feel somewhat tonally-disconnected.

The “normal” plot with Robin and Michael isn’t badly-written and they pull off the loving resignation of a well-worn relationship well but it isn’t quite what you expect in a dark horror comedy starring Sid Haig and Bill Moseley . For their parts, they’re present but not particularly significant, with Haig playing a weathered detective and Moseley taking on a bit part playing an aggressively manic cross-dressing hobo. These surreal scenes with their oddball characters, including Rhine himself as Robin’s absent-minded gynecologist, help to bridge the gap between the exploitation sleaze and the film’s more grounded moments. The kills are exciting and bloody but there is an over-reliance on POV shots, likely to get around the difficulties of animating the puppet.

When the film reaches its climax and they start to bring these worlds together and to give Cynthia her own character, that’s when it really hits its stride. The practical effects and puppeteering, when they’re utilized, are everything a fan of that classic early 80s exploitation style could want. Cynthia looks like an over-cooked potato in the best possible way, with the giant eyes of a traumatized bush baby and the veiny, mottled skin of an actual human baby, which for my money is the most ghastly of all creatures. The way she moves and the voice acting give her this mischievous charm that makes me wish we got to spend more time with her as a proper on-screen presence. My recommendation would be to put on Basket Case and if your appetite for deformed twin shenanigans isn’t sated, make this a double feature. It might not be quite as consistent but when it gets going it’s pretty unforgettable.

Cynthia is available to watch here.