Starring - Isaac Hayes (Escape from New York, South Park), Christopher Ogden (SLC Punk!, Pumpkin Man), and Leslie Neale (Twilight Man, Gremlins 2: The Batch)
Release Date - 1996
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "I want you... dead"
Format - UHD (Personal Collection) (Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
Many years ago, while I was still in high school, I was visiting my local video store when I noticed that they had placed most of their VHS into boxes and had them on sale. Dewey's Video was a huge part of my childhood and so many memories of mine involved me walking up and down the video isles looking at the various tapes trying to find some to rent for the weekend. When he sold his store while I was in high school the new owners wanted to upgrade the VHS releases to DVD and to do so they needed to sell their tapes. It was a bitter sweet feeling walking out of there with bags of tapes knowing that I'll never be able to smell all the tapes as I walked up and down the walkways looking at the cover art. One of the tapes that I snagged was 1996's Uncle Sam from William Lustig. The cover art was pretty cool and the lithographic sleeve was rather unique. The film was a fun watch and since then I've upgraded to blu when Blue Underground released it several years ago. When I received the press release for the UHD release of the film from BU I used it as an opportunity to revisit this underrated mid-90s slasher. I reached out to MVD and and Blue Underground and they were kind enough to send a copy my way for review which was just in time for July 4th.
The film follows the young Jody (Ogden) who looks up to his uncle who is in the military. However, his uncle dies in combat during the Gulf War and his body is shipped back to them. He becomes obsessed with his uncle and vows to enter the military as soon as he is old enough. However, his uncle, the most patriotic man that ever lived, comes back to punish those that disrespect the country that he died for.
Uncle Sam is not the best film from the 90s. Hell, it's not the best film in William Lustig's filmography but it is enjoyable especially if you like holiday themed slashers. As a fan of cheesy and campy horror films I absolutely adore this film. It's not one that I can watch repeatedly but once or twice a year is just fine. I can see some genre snobs and horror hipsters instantly hate on this film and that's alright. This isn't for them. This is for fans of the campy side of the genre. The acting in this one is far from perfect but we do get some fun performances. Isaac Hayes, The Duke and Truck Turner himself, delivers my favorite performance of the entire film. I remember thinking how out of place Hayes was during my very first viewing of Uncle Sam but in the years since then I realize that he is among the best parts of the entire film. With that being said, Ogden was awkward through most of the film. I know he was young with limited experience but I've seen better performances from other actors his age. In some of the scenes his performance feels forced and a lot of his emotions don't feel that genuine. The supporting cast is solid but they are quick in the scenes and don't hold that much screen time. The story for this one follows a basic slasher formula with an Independence Day theme. We follow a masked slasher that finds himself wronged and seeks revenge. This is the standard slasher formula made famous from the early 80s slashers. However, decorating this one in red, white, and blue makes it stand out and appropriate for yearly viewings. It is on the cheesy and campy side but I still love what it delivers. It's simple fun. Finally, the film has several death scenes with blood and some even fit the theme of the film. One in particular is rather funny and still finds itself fully submerged in America and American history. The effects are rather limited but the make-up effects and fucking phenomenal. Overall, Uncle Sam is going to be one of those films that split the horror community but I enjoy it a lot. If you are a fan of slashers or cheesy horror then I highly recommend you snag this release from Blue Underground. I highly recommend it.
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