User reviews

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?

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 first heard about this from my good friend, who told me to rent it. So I did. Wow! What a waste of a good film. During the Desert Storm, Sam Harper shot down in a helicopter by "Friendly Fire". Sam really believed in and respected the American way. On the fourth of July, Sam rises from the dead, and kills anyone who doesn't respect America. Thats right, anyone from flag burners and people who mock the national Anthem. Uncle Sam effects were fake, and I don't know why they consider this "Horror". My rateing is 4 out of 10.

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!

The art of the bad movie is one which is not given full merit. A friend once told me, a horrible movie is more likely to stick in your mind than a merely mediocre one. What's more, though, is that the horrible movie can be a lot more fun to watch. "Uncle Sam," with its tripe plot and unrealistic dialog, would be incredibly boring to watch on your own, but with a group of friends, the quips go flying. If you've never enjoyed a bad movie for what it is, I strongly suggest that you try it. Rent "Uncle Sam" and get a few friends together. Just be sure to warn them of what they're in for.

Young Jody (Christopher Ogden) is a pre-teen with military aspirations thanks to Uncle Sam's medal winning service in Kuwait before his death. Sam's coffin is delivered to Jody's home three years after the fact where Sam's widow and his sister-in-law plan to hold funeral services. Three stupid and obnoxious teens burn an American flag on Sam's funeral plot, which somehow makes him return to life as a ghoul (the make-up is actually pretty good) who offs non-patriotic people while dressed as the title character!

On July 4th at the Twin Rivers festival is where most of the carnage takes place. Death is caused by hanging, flag pole impalement, BBQ grill and fireworks explosion. After finding numerous dead bodies, the festival (and slaughter) idiotically continue. Why? "We wouldn't want to disappoint the children, now would we?"

Awful performances from a cast who should know better, lame attempts at comedy, a moronic script (by Larry Cohen!), a stupid full-contact potato sack race and unbelievable character actions (two adults leave a little kid alone in a house with the killer!?) are just a few of the problems with this gimmicky, subpar horror film.

Score: 2 out of 10

This show was more comical than horror, I still enjoyed it because it was that way, there are individuals who have excessive behaviors, who finds work in the military, police, or security services to vent their own warped sense of reality. There were some humor involved as well, the compulsions that make people obnoxious on the 4th of July were displayed as well as the "penalty" for such behavior.

Now here's a movie that's hard to know how to react to. It's more interesting as a drama; there are surprising complexities in Larry Cohen's script, and unexpected poignancy in some of the scenes with Isaac Hayes as a disillusioned war veteran. But as a horror film it's kind of half-hearted, and most of the blame for this failure must go to director Lustig, who has made several cult films over the years, but it's doubtful whether he has made one that can be called, without reservations, "good". (**)

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 film is a good, healthy dose of satire in the wrap of a hilariously funny, gruesome B-flick. All burgeoning protestors and liberal-minded buttkickers will enjoy it for its wealth of tongue-in-cheek humor.

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.

Just in time for The 4th of July we rented this stinker. Yet instead of fireworks we were left with a strip of soggy duds. I guess the producers of this movie didn't think we could make it to Halloween for another Michael Myers movie so they just spun this blatant rip-off. This movie was plagued with all kinds of errors, plot holes and unrealistic happenings.

Lets start from the beginning. First of all, did anyone think to question the fact that elementary school was still in session in the middle of July. Of course not, that is why this is a B-movie. What about when they ship Uncle Sam's body home to his sister's house. She proceeds to leave the coffin in the middle of the living room for days like its a damn Christmas tree, and had dinner parties without even acknowledging it. Now are we to understand that Sam only kills people that aren't patriotic? If this is the case then why does he kill everybody. Can you say plot holes in a paper thin plot! And what is with this town? How many murders have to happen before they stop their annual redneck dirt celebration!

One of the many whitetrash townies was a child thats in a wheelchair. This kid goes from being an extra in mid-movie to becoming a hero at the end. Probably the most unrealistic story of the movie was how this kid actual became crippled. The story is that he was hurt in some kind of freak firework accident. Now as hard as we try, we can't imagine what kind of firework would leave a kid blind, deformed, confined to a wheelchair with third degree burns...oh and don't forget that the accident left him with a "sixth sense." Did they strap an M80 to his bare spine or what? If this accident was so traumatizing, then why do his parents wait til the 4th of July to take him out. Do they want him to have flashbacks of his near death experience? Also did anybody notice how the other characters in the movie just leave this kid alone on the sidewalk like he's yesterdays trash? This happens quite often.

This picnic was just a real bust. The highlight was an extra long potato-sack race through the woods which was plagued with trippable objects and rusty cars (and probably rusty nails). This is a definite potato-sack no-no! One of the teenagers in the race will just do anything to win. He knocks over everybody from toddlers to elderly women just so he can detour off the trail and roll down a hill for what seems like 10 minutes.

Enough about the mistakes, lets talk about how the movie had several scenes that were in slow-motion just so they could stretch this piece of garbage into 90 minutes. In conclusion this movie stunk. It was just another recycled slasher movie. The only good part was after the credits when they show an out-take of an actor actually being injured, but you have to sit through a poem that sounds like it was written by a third grader. I'm sure someday Christopher Ogden (Jody) will meet up with Michael Stephenson (Joshua from Troll 2) in group therapy and have a good cry over the fact that they both committed career suicide before they hit puberty. This movie was so bad that afterwards we had to break into our 4th of July fireworks early just so we could blow it up.

Uncle Sam: Directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen

Oh man I have been waiting for ages to see this movie. I'm a big fan of the great Larry Cohen and the last time these two teamed up was the Maniac Cop series. I love the Maniac Cop films. They are fun, creepy, gory and crazy pants along with beautiful filmmaking all at the same time.

I wanted this movie to be the same. I know, I know. I preach the expectations gospel and I turned around and succumbed to it myself. I wanted this movie to be like Maniac Cop. It does briefly. It has some of the kills that reflect the theme of the uber American. He uses the flag, the uniform and the traditions of 4th of July to his sick advantage over flag burners, crappy politicians and various other un American types. This sadly is but a brief moment in the film's story and runtime.

I really wanted to like this movie. We needed a cheesy fun horror film for the holiday but I can't in good conscience go with this one. Some of the characters show up randomly half way through the movie. I'm scratching my head and wondering what for. Isaac Hayes is delivering a performance way outside of what this movie requires. He brings so much more to it than he might be expected to. He helps make this movie than it's incredibly, awesome poster. I stayed for Chef and he carried the movie even through the BS.

This is an easy watch. It meanders a bit in the beginning to get the story going. It doesn't need to. It could launched right into the crazy American stereotypes killing but it doesn't. It tries to give characters to it's victims but it doesn't work. They are the lambs, let's just lead them to the slaughter already!?!

I give this movie a C. It had good elements and bad. I can't recommend it but I didn't hate it.

The 1990's were a truly weak decade for insane and bloody slashers, unless of course if you think "Scream" and all its uninspired clones qualify as good horror films. Luckily enough, there still was the companionship between William Lustig and Larry Cohen, who finished their "Maniac Cop"-trilogy and even pleased us horror fans with the entirely new and delightfully trashy "Uncle Sam". Naturally, this is a pretty insignificant film when it comes to plotting and building up tension, but it does deliver some great gore and splendid social sarcasm. Sam Harper was a loyal yet slightly deranged American soldier who got killed by friendly fire during operation Desert Storm. Some years later, his heavily burned corpse is brought back to the States just in time for the annual Fourth of July celebration in his hometown, where his young and naive nephew Jody still considers him to be a true role model. He comes back to life, obviously, and starts an ingenious killing spree dressed up like "Uncle Sam"; the symbol that used to recruit young men as American soldiers. "Uncle Sam" works well as a satire, criticizing the US Army forces that often don't really know what they're fighting for as well as typical blind patriotism, but foremost it's an exciting horror flick with several violent deaths and a cool, old-fashioned villain. The drama-story lines in Larry Cohen's screenplay (revolving on the aunt and mother trying to convince young Jody that warfare is actually a horrible thing) are surprisingly subtle and well-argumented. The two female leads (Leslie Neale & Anne Tremko) aren't very memorable and the young kid is rather annoying, but – and as usual – Lustig & Cohen could count on the presence of several B-movie veterans to star in supportive roles. Isaac Hayes is great as the retired army commander and Halloween's P.J. Soles appears as some kid's obnoxious mother. Good fun, recommended!

Good movie now I know I was a little confuse why there was school in July, but I figured could be summer school maybe summer school was in the middle between June and July. Between the 4 weeks so now it made better since to me now I enjoy thins movie wasn't too bad.. to mention school probably started late august to early September. Good film.

Even though the end is lame and so typicval for the action horror comedy genre in the 80's and 90's. it seem to me a sequel made today in 2019 would have been perfect

its a story about a disappeared and found fallen soldier, dead from friendly fire. its also a story about a boy that lost his uncle, which were his idol by all means..the soldier is returned to the family, and then havoc starts rumbling the city.

it is a harrasing flick on the stereotypical activities and kutyme at 4th of july, the independece day of USA, with float parades, carnival, lincoln and uncle sam , jumping sack race, waterbombs and other physical activities and the fireworks of course, and the speeches, and the hymn.

its a well filmed and produced movie, with a pretty good 1/3 build up, and the rest 2/3's in an amazing havoc of terror, killings,decapitations, barbeques, living fireworks, and general horror and screaming till the end. the sync and timeline are somewhat delayed here and there, and the editing a bit incoherent, but it still works. the actors are not the finest ''breed'' but some familiar faces do show up

the grumpy old man thinks all newbies might learn some tricks from this joint, so scare me if you can. its not always the horror looking guy whos worst, its the cunning pranks the the dear chosen victims gets hold on that makes me sweaty. recommended

This is one of those movies that for years and years I've seen in video stores and online but never actually got around to watching it but finally I found it on youtube and I've been on a 90's horror movie exploration considering I always focused on the 80's so thought it was time to look at the 1990's.

When I started watching this it was kind of annoying mostly the kid Jody who was so over the top patriotic and obsessive about his uncle Sam that was killed in action in Kuwait and this attention on this character went on for about a half hour which at this point I was like this is so stupid but at about the 40 minute point things switch gears and the uncle Sam character emerges and starts killing the residents of the town many of which are unpatriotic and crap on the veterans and American anthem and so fourth,the killings are very creative its not your typical quick cliche stabbing or anything like that very elaborate which is exciting and while this is happening the killer is among the residents but they don't have a clue of what is happening except for a blind kid and a war veteran that knew the Sam character these these three including Jody team up to stop the evil Sam.

All in all this is worth seeing just to say you've seen it some people would appreciate it more than others but for me its just passable I would say that another horror flick from the same era called night of the scarecrow (1995) is better than this.

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.

With a 3-D Cover and a tag line like " I Want you…DEAD! How could you not love every single thing about this movie. I love cheap horror flicks and this one is right up there, but beyond that it also has a "message". I think this movie's script may have originally been about a soldier who dies, who was a real asshole in life, and most of the people who knew him aren't really sad that he's dead. Except of course for the young nephew that respected his uncle like he WAS G.I. Joe. I can only presume that the original script continued to explore this, however it seems no one wanted to make that movie so somewhere along the line the production team said, "screw it" and scrapped everything after the first half hour or so and turned it into a horror film. It actually kind of reminds me of a porn with a plot. No one really cares about the plot, but having one makes the movie cheesier and therefore far better than the director ever intended.

http://heystupid.wordpress.com/category/stupid-movies/

OK, right off the bat we all know this will be a terrible B-Movie Horror flick, so that does not even really need to be said. Most of us who watched Uncle Sam normally like "terrible B-Movie Horror flicks", despite the fact that they are terrible. We know that going in, so the only real way to review this type of movie is against others of the same type, like The Dentist, Maniac Cop or Jack Frost- all horror movies with a little theme going for it. I, personally, liked the patriotic theme this movie cast and would not mind seeing a sequel, possible set in Afghanistan or a fictional Middle Eastern country for the politically correct(knowing, of course, it will probably be even worse than the first).

I also enjoyed the fact that, in the movie, every "draft-dodger", un-patriotic or anti-American was going down, usually with a sarcastic catch phrase, like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Running Man or everything he's ever done. If you are one of the above mentioned, you probably won't enjoy this one.

I didn't like the fact that the movie never explains why or how he becomes this supernatural force. It does not need to be believable but, come on, give us a reason! No one really believes in radioactive spiders, but millions of dollars have been made off of that premise.

The story is basically your typical horror movie. A soldier is killed by friendly fire and sent home in a casket. Somehow, he has come back to life in his grisly form and begins his killing spree based on their political views. This continues until someone finally figures out how to kill him. Plotwise, there is nothing new brought to the table other than the gimmick.

One of the factors determining whether or not you will like this movie will also, more likely than not, be based on your political affiliations. If you hate Bush, you will probably hate this movie, and this review for that matter, but in the words of Jesse Ventura, "I'm telling it like it is". 5/10