The Uh-Oh Show

The Uh-oh Show (2009)

** (out of 4)

The Uh-oh Show is on a television show that is on cable that can have the contestants win a large sum of money, dream vacations and other great things as long as they can answer three questions correct. If they miss a question then they have to spin the wheel where they will then lose a body part. The show is becoming a hit so the station orders the producers to try and come up with something for prime-time.

THE UH-OH SHOW turned out to be the next-to-last film for the legendary Herschell Gordon Lewis and there's no question that he wasn't meaning for this thing to be taken very serious. Fans of the cult drive-in director will enjoy knowing that he returned to Florida to film this movie and there's no question that he lived up to his title as being The Godfather of Gore. With that said, this here is pretty much a one-joke film and that joke gets rather tiresome long before the 87-minute running time is up.

If you're a fan of Lewis' gore films like 2000 MANIACS, BLOOD FEAST and COLOR ME BLOOD RED then you'll enjoy that portion of this movie. The idea of a game show where you can win money or lose body parts was rather clever and the film gets off to a great and funny start as we're introduced to some rather weird characters who end up getting chopped up. The only problem is that the movie really falls flat whenever there's not some gore action happening. A lot of times we've got silly characters discussing things that just aren't overly interesting and this is where the movie loses its fun.

The film was obviously meant as a spoof and there are actually some funny moments where the director takes on himself. There are some nods to some of the previous movies he made and even the likes of Lloyd Kaufman shows up playing a pimp. The gore is mostly real, although some CGI is used at times. The gore is certainly the reason to see this movie but overall it falls well short of what you'd consider a classic.

The Uh-Oh Show is the 8th gore film of Herschell Gordon Lewis. And his first Florida-shot gore film since 1967's The Gruesome Twosome.A film that took far too long to get released. And when it finally did, it just didn't cut it, in my opinion. Sounds like a good one when you read about it, but as cartoonish and crazy as it is, it just falls a bit flat. This movie is about a popular game show called The Uh-Oh Show, where contestants can win big, as well as lose big. Answer correctly, and win millions. answer incorrectly, and win mutilations. An arm, a leg. Whichever bodypart it lands on when they spin the wheel, gets hacked off.

Highlights include another hilarious performance from the legendary Joel D. Wynkoop as the greedy and sadistic TV executive, Fred Finagler as well as a cameo by Troma founder, Lloyd Kaufman. Oh, and gore, of course. I appreciate what ol' Herschell was going for with this, as well as the obvious parody of TV networks and their desperation to boost ratings by any means necessary. As mediocre as most of the cast was, the eager contestants were amusing with their over the top perormances. Still grinning from ear to ear even after getting dismembered, being that they were just happy to be on TV. In a way, this is a typical HGL story, as it has the same comedic tone as classics such as Two Thousand Maniacs and The Gore Gore Girls.

This is a film I've been meaning review for the longest time, but just couldn't come up with the words. I really wanted to love The Uh-Oh! Show, but it ain't gonna happen. I even have a hard time liking it at times, if only due to the high expectations I once had. Otherwise, it's not all that bad. Just not worthy of good 'ol H.G. And certainly not a worthy follow up to Blood Feast 2. This just seems more heavily HGL-inspired than it does an actual HGL flick. Although, the same could be said about Blood Feast 2. But at least that one kicked as much ass as one would expect. It took forever for this to get a release, and once I saw it, it didn't take long to figure out why. The Uh-Oh Show is just underwhelming. It's funny, but not funny enough. It's gory, but not gory enough. It was worth watching, but it just wasn't worth the wait.

The films of Herschell Gordon Lewis have always been hit or miss. This one being a bit of a miss is nothing new. I guess we should all just be grateful to know the man is still around and still going at it. The future of the now 85 year old godfather of gore looks to be a bright one. Keep an eye out for his next gore epic, Bloodmania. Lewis' first zombie film. As for The Uh-Oh Show, any fan of the man should probably check it out, and very well may dig it more than I did. I do hope it finds an audience one of these days. The Uh-Oh Show was good, after all. Just not good enough. 4/10

I caught a sneak preview of Herschell Gordon Lewis' latest gore film "The Uh-Oh Show" recently at the Cinema Wasteland convention in Cleveland OH. Mr. Lewis was in attendance for an informative Q & A after the screening and I have to say that the man who 'excreted'(his own words) such classics as "Blood Feast" and "2000 Maniacs" has definitely not lost his touch! In this film, Lewis obviously parodies himself and his own work with outrageous gore mixed with tongue-in-cheek humor. This film never takes itself too seriously and Mr. Lewis even has a role in the film as himself. There is also a cameo appearance by Troma film president Lloyd Kaufman, as a pimp of course. It's all here in gory details...arms are hacked off, heads decapitated, intestines are ripped out and yes there is even an obese drag queen thrown in for good measure. The film is a wrap around story concerning the exploits that take place on the set of a bizarre TV game show where the players are asked questions...if they are correct, they win fabulous prizes but if they are wrong...UH OH, they are brutally dismembered! There is another wrap around story surrounding a second TV show entitled "Grim Fairy Tales" (the film was apparently originally titled "Herschell Gordon Lewis' Grim Fairy Tales"). I am not quite sure what the future of this film will be, whether it will actually be released in theaters or go direct to DVD but if you are a fan of Lewis' work or of the gore film in general do yourself a favor and watch it, it will be an experience you will not forget!

I can't believe this movie currently has a 5 out of 10, which implies it's at least worth watching.

The story is stupid, it makes no sense and the writing jumps all over the place. The comedy aspects of the film are cringey at best, not once eliciting so much as a smirk from me.

The "gore" aspects of the show may be some of the cheapest I've ever seen.

It's not funny, it isn't clever, I don't see how this movie is rated as well as it is.

It came as no surprise to see Troma head honcho Lloyd Kaufmann popping up in Herschell Gordon Lewis's comedy splatter pic The Uh-oh Show, both film-makers sharing a similar sense of humour and displaying a lack of boundaries when it comes to taste. Unfortunately, they also share the same uncanny ability to churn out complete and utter drivel, and The Uh-oh Show is no exception.

The film centres around a cable TV quiz show in which contestants literally risk life and limb to win—answer a question correctly and they are rewarded with a fabulous prize, get the question wrong and a spin of a wheel decides which body part is to be unceremoniously removed by the show's resident maniac Radial Saw Rex (Broward 'Eclipse' Holsey). When her boyfriend becomes a contestant and promptly disappears, TV reporter Jill Burton (Nevada Caldwell) investigates the show, and discovers that no-one is a winner.

Although The Uh-oh Show seems to be intended as a wry swipe at network TV's use of violence to boost ratings (pot, kettle?), Lewis's execution is way too ham-fisted to work as effective satire; the script is dreadful, the direction uninspired, the zany humour and cartoonish violence can be considered puerile at best (characters continue to talk even after being dismembered!), and, although Caldwell puts in a reasonable performance (for a Lewis film, at least), the majority of the cast are as lousy as I expected.

3.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 4 for the excess of gore, which is always messy and occasionally even looks half decent.