Uncle Sam (1996) Reviews

• Surprisingly Good

  abooboo-22000-10-29

  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.

• Slasher cheese at it's maximum!

  insomniac_rod2004-11-19

  I don't know if this was a direct to cable movie, but I watched it on the basic cable system months ago after it's release. I don't regret. It's one of the cheesiest slasher flicks I've watched. I thought I was watching a mid 80's slasher because there's a marked 80's feeling through the movie. The f/x are as cheap as you can get. The acting is hilarious. Sir Isaac Hayes delivers a weird performance as the badass Jed. I loved his line at the end before he gives Uncle Sam a little of his own. Very low budget slasher flick. Doesn't deserves a watch but if you got nothing, NOTHING else to do and it's very late, you should give it a chance. Or at least watch 10 minutes of it to give you an idea of what you're going through. 2/10.

• This movie is a great classic horror movie

  aja2002-12005-08-30

  If you are the type of movie lover, who appreciates a film for what it is, and not what you expect it to be. Or, just love stupid horror movies where within three minutes you know who is going to die, then "Uncle Sam" is your movie. "Uncle Sam" is first and for most a campy horror-slasher flick. For some unknown reason Sam Harper, who died in Kuwait, rises from the dead when his body was returned home after being MIA for three years. He goes on to cause all sorts of murder and mayhem. Now really, how could you not like that. "Uncle Sam" makes absolutely no attempt to be anything more then that. It has all the classic elements: nudity, axes to the head, and best of all a really freaky looking slasher who looks surprisingly like the guy from "Tales From the Crypt." It is the perfect dumb horror movie, and if you are the type of person who likes stupid, bad, b-movies, then this is a great one.

• Classic trash from exploitation masters Lustig and Cohen!

  Infofreak2002-08-19

  Between them William Lustig ('Maniac') and Larry Cohen ('It's Alive!) have been responsible for some of the best exploitation of the last thirty years. Together they had previously collaborated on the classic 'Maniac Cop' series. 'Uncle Sam' is an attempt to recreate the success of that partnership. It may not be as consistent as 'Maniac Cop', but it is a lot of fun, and much more entertaining than most of the b-grade horror mediocrities clogging up the video stores shelves. Lustig and Cohen know their stuff ( the movie is even dedicated to the late Lucio Fulci), and true connoisseurs of trash will eat this one up. A superior b-grade cast, some Lustig and/or Cohen veterans (William Smith, Robert Forster, Frank Pesce), and some who are not - Bo Hopkins ('The Wild Bunch'), Isaac Hayes ('Escape From New York') and P.J. Soles ('Halloween'), make this one worth the rental. 'Uncle Sam' gets my seal of approval!

• Ummm...a very interesting movie

  Reel_entertainment2001-10-25

  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?