Sinister Surgeon – Movie Review | Tubi (3/5)

SINISTER SURGEON (2024) on Tubi is a thriller with a serial killer plot, several murder mysteries, and a few twists along the way. Entertaining, but not amazing. Read our full Sinister Surgeon movie review here!

SINISTER SURGEON is a new Tubi Original. It’s a thriller murder-mystery with a serial killer plot. Also, there are several horror elements despite this being labeled a thriller.

The fact that it opens with the bloody MarVista logo says as much. There are a few twists, but fans of whodunnit-plots will undoubtedly have a good idea of who the killer is early on. The active runtime is around an hour and a half, which is good.

Continue reading our Sinister Surgeon movie review below. Find it on Tubi from July 6, 2024.

From surgeon to serial killer

In Sinister Surgeon (2024) on Tubi, we meet a young surgeon just as she has landed her dream job. She’s the new resident at a Beverly Hills plastic surgery clinic. Unfortunately, it becomes a living nightmare when the patients start dying.

Or rather, the patients have started dying even before she began working here. It’s just that no one has pieced everything together quite yet. A serial killer is targeting the patients of the clinic.

Overall, the casting of Sinister Surgeon is good and the performances are solid. However, there is one cast member who makes this movie worth watching: Alisa Allapach as the office manager, Lori, is the standout star for me.

From the first moment we see Alisa Allapach (Light as a Feather, Grey’s Anatomy), she comes across as so natural that you can easily buy into whatever she’s saying. Some well-timed comedy and emotional scenes round out her character well.

Too much soap and pounding

This might be labeled a thriller, but it gets very bloody. Not to spoil this movie, but I feel like a warning is in place; The opening sequence includes a woman getting her face sliced off.

The skin of her face is peeled off in a setting reminiscent of Dexter Morgan’s lair. If that isn’t horror, then I don’t know what would qualify as such. And she’s just the first victim of several, we witness getting sliced up in some manner.

Other than these very violent murder scenes, there is way too much “pounding” (to use the direct description by the office manager). Also, some scenes get too soapy. Having said that, this Tubi movie also uses kitsch and camp in small ways.

Watch Sinister Surgeon on Tubi now!

Jonathan Louis Lewis is the director of Sinister Surgeon. As a director, he has done several horror shorts, which have even been part of anthologies. Including the 2023 horror anthology Tenants.

I’m actually intrigued about this director, which is a good sign. The suspense and eerie vibe along with the very violent (I mean, it gets damn brutal) murder scenes, show a great understanding of the horror genre.

The screenplay comes from writers Mary O’Neil (You Shouldn’t Have Let Me In) and James Quinn. The story isn’t great as there are too many scenes that should’ve been cut. As in, they should never have been in the final screenplay.

Sure, this is a classic Tubi Original in many ways, but the murder-mystery works well as simple entertainment. You might guess who the killer is, but it doesn’t take too much away from the overall impression which is fine, but nothing amazing.

Sinister Surgeon is on Tubi from July 6, 2024.

Details

Director: Jonathan Louis Lewis
Writers: Mary O’Neil, James Quinn
Stars: Samantha Neyland Trumbo, Anthony Montgomery, Harry Jarvis, Helena Mattsson, Alisa Allapach, Shantel Jackson, Justin Chu Cary, Ashley London, Jordyn Rolling