UmbertoLenziisundoubtedlythekingofItaliancrimemovies,butunfortunately;SyndicateSadistsisnotthebestexamplesofhisworkinthisgenre.Lenzi'scrimeflickstendtobeacutabovetherestbecausehemakesfilmsbasedonstorieswithapoint,andtheydon'tlackdirection;butthisfilmfeelsabittoowaywardtofullyfitwiththerestofhisstuff.ThefilmtakesobviousinfluencefromSergioLeone'slandmarkwestern'AFistfulofDollars'(whichinturn,tookinfluencefromAkiraKurosawa'slandmarksamuraiflickYojimbo),inthatitfeaturestwowarringfamiliesandastrongcharacteratthecentre.ThecrimethatLenzifocusesoniskidnapping,andwecentreonacharactercalled'Rambo'.Ramboisdraggedintothewarbetweenthetwofamiliesafterhisbrotheriskilledbecauseofit.Rambouseshisbrainsandbrawntopitthetwofamiliesagainstoneanother,inthehopeofgainingrevengeforhisbrother'sdeath,rescuingayoungboythatthey'vekidnapped,andultimatelylettingthetwosidesdestroyoneanotherbbb　　Thefilm'sbiggestassetisundoubtedlyTomasMilian.MilianwasputtogreatusebyLenziinalmostallofhiscrimethrillers.TherangeofcharactershehasplayedforLenziisimmense,andthisoneiseasilyoneofthecoolest.ThecharacteriscalledRambo,whichimmediatelysprangtomindthepopularSylvesterStallonecharacter-butforonce,theItaliansactuallyhaven'tstolenthisnameasSyndicateSadistswasreleasedfirst!Asusual,thefilmiswickedlyentertaining,aswegettowatchMiliangethimselfinvolvedintheusualarrayofcarchases,shootoutsandbrawls.Lenzihasgothimridingamotorbikethistimeround,andeveryscenefeaturingitandMilianisarealstandout!However,thefilmoftenfeelslikeitdoesn'treallyhaveanywheretogo,andthismeansthattherunningtimeisstretchedoutmorethanitshouldbe.ComparedtothecrimefilmsofotherItaliandirectors,SyndicateSadistsismorethanaboveaverage;butinrelationtoLenzicrimeflickssuchasAlmostHumanandTheCynic,TheRatandTheFist-itdoesn'tstandtallasoneofLenzi'sbest.Still,ifyou'relookingforninetyminutesoftestosteronefuelledmayhem-SyndicateSadistswillsuffice!

　　Thisearly70'sgiallobyUmbertoLenziiscertainlyamongthebestinhisfilmographyandalsointhewholegenre.PersonallyIthinkLenzi'sbestfilmsarethefunnycartoon-turned-filmKriminal,thestylishgialloSevenBlood-StainedOrchids,theexplosiveNapoliviolentaandthis.IntheeightieshedidplentyoffilmtrashinformofEatenAlive,HitcherintheDarkorBlackDemons,allofwhicharerippingsomethingoffand/orverydullandslowmoving.KnifeofIcecamewhenthegialloboomwasatitshottestandtheresultisconvincingddd　　Technicallythefilmissuperb,containinggreatcinematographyinthebeginningwhenwelearnaboutthemaincharacter'straumatowardstrains.Fromthispointon,Lenzishowsushisabilitytobenefitthewidescreenand,forexample,thebicyclerideneartheforestisgenuinelybeautiful!ThisscenealsoshowsLenzi'sabilitytobuildsuspense,veryslowlybutmeaningfully.Afterall,therearen'tsomanymurdersinthewholefilm,onlythesuspensecirculatingaroundthemurderer'sidentity.　　Onesuspectisadevilworshipperwhichbringsnewaspectstothemystery.Sincethefinalscenetakesplaceinachurch,onecanwonderifLenziwantedtocommentonsomething,maybethehypocriticalmoraleofchurchandsuperstition.Themaincharacter(CarrolBaker)ismutewhichdemandsalotfromherfaceandeyes.Theactressworksverywell,givingusabelievableperformancecirculatingaroundtheemotionsoffearandmentalpain.Theotheractorsaregood,too.Thefinally,however,maynotgivetoopositiveasightaboutfemalesexsincetheyallareexpressedrathernegativelyinthefilm,onewayoranother.Stillthisiseasilyamongthemostnoteworthyinthegenre,notasbloodyastheArgentofilms,forexample,butequallysuspensefulandvisuallyalsointeresting.

　　克里斯蒂安（罗伯特·霍夫曼饰）和他的女朋友正在一个荒芜的海滩上散步，他们发现一具女人的尸体躺在那里。仔细一看发现她还活着。第二天，克里斯蒂安在游艇派对上再次见到她，他们相爱了。后来在附近的一家汽车旅馆，当他们准备一起上床睡觉时，奇怪的事情发生了：一个入侵者闯入并开始殴打克里斯蒂安，克里斯蒂安不小心用自己的枪向他开枪。几个小时后，他们发现尸体失踪，并发生了一系列奇怪的事件ccc

　　Afteracriminalmotorcycleriderisputtodeath,hecomesbackfromthedeadtoseekmurderousrevengeagainsttheresidentsofaFloridatownddd

　　Iamawestruckbythismovie.Fastzombiesthatcanuseweapons,evenguns,andarecapableofintelligentthought.Theyplotastrategicoffensivetotakeoverthecity,hittingtheairport,thentheTVstationsandthepowerplant.Ifyoulovehorror,gory,andviolentmoviesanddon'tmindalittlebadacting,thenyouwillLOVEthismovie.Itisexcitingandevenabitsuspenseful.Itstartsoutfastandhardandmaintainsasteadypaceofmayhemandcarnagebbb　　Ican'tbelievemorepeoplehaven'tseenthisfilm.Ihaveyettomeetahorrormoviebuffthathasseenthisfilmbefore.ItisatruegemstoneofEuropeanhorrorandexploitation,definitelyuptoparwiththeclassicsofthegenresuchasZombi2,Demons,HousebytheCemetery,etc.Andit'sevenreadilyavailableuncut(92minutes)onDVDfromAnchorBay(underthetitle"NightmareCity")andonVHSunderthetitle"CityoftheWalkingDead."Supergoryandviolent,amustforfansofItaliangrindhouseflicks.

　　ThisfilmisanextremelyentertainingpsychologicalthrillerwithCarrolBakerexcellentasarichAmericanwidowgettingawayfromitallatasecludedItalianvilla.Entersmartaleckdownonhisluckplayboy,LouCastel,whohassomegolddiggingmotivesbehindhisslickhipsterseductiontechniquesandhasnoqualmsabouthowhegetswhathewants.HeencouragesBaker'scharacter'sincipientalcoholismanddubiousself-esteem,bringsinhissupposed'sister'tohelpdragBakerevenfurtherintoamazeofsickmindgames,drugaddictionandgroupsex,allculminatinginadescentintonear-madnessandself-destructivedepravityccc　　Iwon'tgiveawayanymore,sufficetosaythatthefilmdeliversonitsswingingsixties,Eurosleazeambienceandpsychologicalsuspensethrillercredentialsinspades.DirectorUmbertoLenzi'sworkhasbeen,atbest,unevenandhe'schurnedouthisshareofcrap.However,hemadesomequitegoodgiallosandcrimepicturesinthesixtiesandseventiesandthisisoneofthem(othergoodfilmsbyLenzi--SPASMO,SEVENBLOODSTAINEDORCHIDS,ASSAULTWITHADEADLYWEAPON,tonameonlyafew).　　Unfortunatelythisfilmisofenconfusedwithanotherokaybutnot-quite-as-goodLenzifilmthatwasalsoreleasedbrieflyhereinAmericaunderthesamePARANOIAtitle(butismorecommonlyknown,especiallyonvideo,asAQUIETPLACETOKILL).