Sin-Jin Smyth
(review by Sam Murray)
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I grew up in the midwest. This particular time of year; when the cold wind starts to bite at your skin and the days become shorter and shorter as the leaves fall from the trees, is our last break before the dead of winter. This is the time of year, from old tradition, we decide to dress up like monsters and demons to celebrate Halloween. All Saints Eve. We put on costumes and masks, and scurry about the city streets from house to house filling our bags with treats, or playing tricks on the unsuspecting. It all started a long time ago when after the Harvest Moon, our ancestors would attempt to scare away all the evil spirits that they perceived surrounded them. They would go out into the darkness to frighten themselves and those around them in an effort to overcome their fears. Halloween has become more subdued since then, but the need we have inside to terrify ourselves and face the darkness still lives. Now we go to the local movie theater or rent a DVD and immerse ourselves in a world of suspense and horror that makes us feel a rush, a buzz….alive.
We all have our own favorite horror films. The classics. The ones that give us goosebumps every time we watch them. The horror genre seems to be in high gear lately with movies like Saw III, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Devil’s Rejects, and Hostel shocking the soul out of audiences everywhere. Even in a market flooded with material, it is still rare to find an original and well developed concept that frightens viewers in a new way, from a different angle. I recently was given access to view such a film. Although Sin-Jin Smyth is still wrapping up production, the buzz worldwide is stoked with anticipation of what writer/director Ethan Dettenmaier and Snapkick Productions will show us in their latest film.
Every Halloween at midnight, the Devil appears simultaneously in two places on Earth. So begins the premise for Sin-Jin Smyth. When two federal marshals are dispatched to the small town of Shin Bone, Kansas, to pick up and transport a mysterious prisoner, the fuse is lit. Roddy Piper of WWE fame, co-stars as Federal marshal Trent Polly. Polly is a career solider with a questionable past. As an Iraqi war vet supected of war crimes during his last tour, Piper portrays this character as a man weary and worn out from the life he’s lived and the memory of the things he’s seen. Opposite Piper, veteran actor Richard Tyson(Black Hawk Down) plays the role of Federal marshal Tyree. A dark, disturbing character who seems comfortable living on the edge. At any moment Tyree seems ready to snap. In one scene Tyree instructs cadets on how to interrogate prisoners and “apply pain to get answers”. As classical music echoes throughout the interrogation room, this scene symbolizes Tyson’s character perfectly. Tyree seems to find tranquility and peace through violence and confrontation. His frusration arises when his talents aren’t put to use. Piper and Tyson really deliver knockout performances in this film. Both men are very physical actors and create a chemistry together that heightens the intensity on scene. Sin-Jin Smyth also features Korn frontman Jonathan Davis starring as the title character. I am personally not a big fan of musicians that attempt to crossover into acting, but who better to play the role of the Devil than a man whose music exemplifies completely the tortured darkness inside. In what one would expect to be some type of marketing gimick, Jonathan Davis overcomes conventional expectations and proves his validity as an actor with his performance.
When their prisoner escapes, the cold, completely in control exteriors of marshals Polly and Tyree begin to unravel. Their search to find the escapee leads them to a deserted farmhouse where the action of this film explodes on scene. Both men are confronted with people from their past as the plot takes a complete twist. A cast of over the top bad guys come out of the woodwork to wreak havoc and chaos on everything in their path. As marshals Tyree and Polly finally find and confront the escaped prisoner, the reality of the situation they’ve been drawn into hits them like a baseball bat. At this point there is no turning back. It’s time for both men to confront their darkest fears.
Sin-Jin Smyth delivers on every possible level. Established actors like Kevin Gage (Heat) and John Philbin (Point Break) round out the cast with appearances from Jenna Jameson and Billy Duffy of The Cult. Musical geniuses Midnight Syndicate provide the score to a film which already has an incredibly dark atmosphere. It’s obvious to see why this film was nominated for the Spike TV Screamfest Award of Most Anticipated Film Of 2007. With so many tools at his disposal and the right people to make it happen, writer/director Ethan Dettenmaier creates a film that will truly frighten audiences everywhere for years to come.
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For more information and a teaser trailer for the film go to www.sin-jinsmyth.com.
Sam Murray
