Uncle Sam

Just in time for the spirit of the Fourth of July! I could not think of a more appropriate movie that relates to the Independence Day theme.

Un film de William Lustig. UNCLE SAM had the potential to be a grand cult classic. However lackluster performances plus a flawed and muddled orchestration prevent UNCLE SAM from earning its stars and stripes...

Master Sergeant Sam Harper (David "Shark" Fralick), an honorable Desert Storm hero is accidentally killed by "friendly fire" while fighting in Kuwait. Tragically, this one time hero has become a mere statistic...

Meanwhile, at Twin Rivers, USA, Jody (Christopher Ogden) sadly misses his uncle. However, when an Army Sergeant (Bo Hopkins) appears, the news of Harper's arrival back to the states is apparently not good news. This Sergeant has plaintively informed Jody and his relatives of Sam Harper's demise. Afterwards, Harper's grieving family wishes to have him receive an honorable burial.

Subsequently, a few twenty year old teenagers decide to foolishly burn an American flag near Sam's resting site. This action has provoked the indignation of Sam Harper. This undead patriotic marine feels deign to teach these delinquents some country pride in the typical fashion. Sam is willing to teach a lesson...at the cost of any human lives.

So "Uncle Sam" returns from the grave to restore rectitude and pride in a small, greedy town gone wrong. He has a fresh crop of sinners at his disposal. Among the characters include: an unlawful sheriff (Matthew Flint), a draft dodging teacher (Timothy Bottoms), a tax evading lawyer (Tim Grimm), and a scornful, self-serving politician (Robert Forster!). Uncle Sam fights for truth, (in)justice...and the American way!

UNCLE SAM was atrociously bad, but in a sort of cheesy way. The ensemble in this movie is a B-movie fan's dream. Even P.J. Soles rounds out the cast as a fastidious mother. Anyhow, the acting in this movie was tremendously weak. The characters lacked charisma, and I personally wanted to see virtually all of the cast members (even the child actors) bite the dust sometime in this film. The young child actor, Ogden, for one is too nettling for his own good. The best performance is by Hayes (Yes, that is the Isaac Hayes who provides Chef's voice in the indelible TV show SOUTH PARK) as an affectionate war veteran. Hayes is the only caring character who does a good job portraying Harper's former mentor who must dissuade young Jody from enlisting in the army. As for good old Robert Forster, let's just say that his performance is "on fire!"

Some wily cleverness manages to shine through but this film suffers heavily from an onerous pace. The death scenes in particular (i.e. Hatchet in the head, a decapitation, throat slitting, gunshot wounds) are far from adulterated. Some of the other subtleties were...unique. I especially chuckled watching Ogden play with those old all American action figures. Another subtlety was Uncle Sam's atypical costume. It is certainly the perfect disguise for a movie villain!

As for the antagonist, Larry Cohen has created a villain whose violent tactics are nothing more but "justified murders." The screenplay though, is a lot less refined. Ostensibly, Cohen had created mixed messages in this movie. Unfortunately, the screenplay fails to convey any of these individual messages thoroughly. Cohen wanted to discern a theme explaining that people throughout history have always been fighting without a cause. People supposedly have fought for the thrill of victory, but nowadays, people seem to fight for no other purpose than the pleasure of killing. On the other hand, Cohen also wanted to elucidate the fact that there are no noble heroes in war...only ones who miraculously survive with blood on his hands... These ideas are implied with the characterization of Uncle Sam and how he became so cold-hearted. The screenplay had strong intentions, but they are not fully expressed. Cohen does a much better job with satire. The mean-spirited satire censuring anti-patriotism and the lack of pride and duty among even America's finest citizens is inventive...up to a point.

UNCLE SAM is probably not William Lustig's best picture, but he has done far worst films. This film though, does not offer much substance except for a wasted great premise. Do yourself a favor and avoid the propaganda. Do not be fooled into witnessing this movie just because you see its excellent, holographic video cover. This vanity production is all decoration...and zero thrills. I may not be able to discourage you from seeing this movie, but I will exhort to you that even if this movie does sound fanciful, it really lacks a soul. If you do manage to sit through this whole movie, watch the end credits to hear a poem written by the veteran himself, cacophonous-voiced William Smith.

RATING: *1/2 out of ****.

The script of a soldier coming back from the dead to wreck havoc on unpatriotic citizens, seems like fertile ground for "black comedy". There are some fine character actors, Bo Hopkins plays a scuzzy Army bereavement officer, and Isaac Hayes is a wounded member of Uncle Sam's combat unit, but they are more or less wasted. The script seems like it didn't move much beyond the initial idea, and is badly underdeveloped. If it's a slasher, there is very little tension. If it's a comedy, where are the laughs? For "black comedy" to succeed, it must be outrageous, which the film is, but it also cannot be mean spirited, and "Uncle Sam" clearly is mean spirited, and somewhat meaningless to boot. Sure, the Uncle Sam on stilts peeper is fun to look at, but a few good scenes cannot save this from being a disappointment. - MERK

I rented this in the mood for a really bad movie that I could rip to shreds but to my surprise, and despite what everyone else seems to think of it, it was actually quite good!

Yes, there are all kinds of B movie slip-ups (like school being in session in the middle of summer, the crippled and deformed blind kid who somehow has been equipped with a sixth sense after a fireworks accident the previous July 4th, and the casket being dropped off and kept in the sister's living room as if it were a new TV set or piece of furniture) but I found myself ignoring all the flaws because the actors had so much conviction in their roles, and because Lustig's camerawork was so fluid and put me under its spell. The image of that Uncle Sam on enormous stilts first peeping into some bedroom, then hobbling away from some mysterious pursuer is one of the most effective, haunting visuals I've seen in a long while.

I was aware of his reputation for sleazy shlock but the surprise here is how much restraint and sensitivity Lustig shows in so many of the scenes (though admittedly not all). Working with a typically insightful/erratic/cliched/inspired/absorbing/impossible-to-pigeonhole script by the infamous Larry Cohen, you can tell that they really have something on their mind here other than just another slasher film ripoff. There are wonderful, quiet scenes like the one where Isaac Hayes' one-legged veteran takes the impressionable kid aside and explains that killing machines like his Uncle Sam aren't heroes at all, or the one where Timothy Bottoms' grade school teacher is forced to defend his pacifist stance during the Vietnam War to a class of skeptical students. And there are just clever, little tongue-in-cheek details throughout that clue you in (if you're paying attention) to the fact that the filmmakers put real thought and consideration into the exercise.

Whatever external flaws it may have, beneath its goofy premise there's real merit here. This is a movie that possesses something which many of its big budget counterparts wish they had: a pulse.

This movie should have been made 10 years earlier...it's a perfect '80s horror flick. It's a silly romp, which will have you laughing due to it being ridiculous. There's not much violence/gore, but a perfect B-movie. If you're gonna watch a horror movie, make sure it's a B-movie. Simple plot: a sadistic army soldier is shot down in his helicopter by 'friendly fire' by his fellow soldiers. I suppose due to revenge, he goes after anti-americans...flag burners, draft-dodgers, & his ex-wife. Did I mention that he dresses up as Uncle Sam while he does this? Isn't this alone worth watching it?

Talk about a disappointment. I know it's only Uncle Sam, but it's Bill Lustig and Larry Cohen. This dynamic duo should have had better results (see Maniac Cop). Uncle Sam is just so...I don't know, but it's not fun. And fun is exactly what it should have been. It's very goofy but I never once laughed with it, only at it. Perhaps the funniest aspect was the kid in the wheelchair. Where did he come from? He was never mentioned or shown and out of nowhere (and in the middle of the movie) he becomes a major character. Talk about bewildered. The best part is that he's always left behind. If someone goes into a house, the wheelchair kid stays outside. If someone leaves to get a cannon, the wheelchair kid just chills where he's at. It's accidentally hilarious. I can say some good about Uncle Sam. I can say it has one of the best casts to ever grace a slasher film. It's a 70's who's who that features Isaac Hayes, Bo Hopkins, William Smith, and Robert Forster. It's even got the guy who played the president on That's My Bush. I'm not sure how Lustig brought this cast together for this film, but it still doesn't compensate for the negative. If you're wanting to see a hokey horror flick with a killer who never runs out of quips, stick to the Nightmare on Elm Street sequels. If you're wanting to see a serious horror film with deep social commentary about war, watch Deathdream.

"Uncle Sam wants you...dead!"