Uncle Sam (1996)

I'm unsure as to whether Uncle Sam is pro-patriotism, anti-war or simply devoid of any subtext whatsoever; what I am sure of is that the film drops the ball when it comes to tone, neither cheesy enough to be a whole lot of demented popcorn fun, nor genuinely scary enough to be seriously unsettling. Uncle Sam - a war hero with a mean streak who returns from the dead to punish those who upset his sensibilities - makes for a memorable killer, decked out in silky stars 'n' stripes costume and creepy mask, but he only occasionally rises to the occasion when it comes to bloody mayhem. A severed head in a 4th of July barbecue is the grisly highlight, but most of the kills lack creativity.Written by Larry 'It's Alive' Cohen and directed by William 'Maniac' Lustig, the film has great horror credentials, and the cast is solid enough (P.J. Soles, Isaac Hayes, Robert Forster, Timothy Bottoms, Bo Hopkins), but the end result is a film that ultimately disappoints and confuses (what the hell is that final freeze frame supposed to imply?).4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for the peeping tom scene, which provides the obligatory female nudity.

I have not seen this movie in such a long time, back when Hollywood Video was still in business by my house. I noticed that it had a picture of Uncle Sam and then when you turned the cover it would reform into a skeleton version of him with his skin falling off. This movie is brought to you buy the director of Maniac (William Lustig) and the writer of It's Alive (Larry Cohen), which were both very good horror movies with a great subtext entwined into it. This film would probably fit under my Guilty Pleasures of the horror genre next to C.H.U.D., The Rats and Sleepaway Camp. The first time that I saw this movie I laughed but the more and more look back on it, the more I have a certain respect for it. Sure the plot is thin and the acting is so-so but there is something about this movie that captures my eyes. Maybe it's the fact that it is a satire or maybe because it incorporated all the basic fundamentals of b-movies of the 80's and 90's. Either way, this movie was pretty okay, and put an emphasis on "okay." I will also give a big handshake to whoever thought up the way to approach the opening credits.I would recommend this movie, not as a key buy at Blockbuster or Wal-Mart, but as a DVD or VHS rental. This movie would especially satisfy the taste that so many B-movie connoisseurs want to quench. I found myself liking this movie to a point and I think that I always will.

Now there has been slasher movies, there have been zombie movies and there even has been zombie slasher movies. But using the persona of Uncle Sam to kill people is a cool new twist on both genres. Sam is a scary looking guy with or without the Sam mask, the story works. It has a great cast that does a great acting job. The story works, now the problem with it. The kid is obsessed with war, his mother should have told him that war is Hell and people die in war, it ain't no game. Which is finds out the hard way when Sam comes a calling for a visit. The Sam decay make up is gory and cool. The plastic mask is cool, let's face it, Uncle Sam is 97 % cool and worth watching over and over again. 8 STARS.

This movie absolutely deserves a 4. The premise is great any anti American activity results in death. The movie sticks to that for a little while. The major downsides were that Uncle Sam doesn't really appear until forty minutes into the movie, and like an hour in he just starts killing everybody. The best part of the movie was at the end when they fire the cannon at Uncle Sam and you can see the string pulling him back through the house. God that was soo funny. I couldn't stop laughing at that. The acting was kinda bad, but expected. The best character is the blind kid in the wheelchair. Bottom line if u like cheesy movies especially horror see this.