''Uncle Sam'' is a 1996 American

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as ...

directed by

William Lustig William "Bill" Lustig (born February 1, 1955, in The Bronx, New York) is an American film director and producer who has worked primarily in the horror film genre. He is the nephew of former middleweight champion Jake LaMotta. Film career As ...

, written by

Larry Cohen Lawrence George Cohen (July 15, 1936 – March 23, 2019) was an American screenwriter, producer, and director of film and television, best known as an author of horror and science fiction films — often containing police procedural and ...

, and starring Isaac Hayes.

Plot

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, a military unit uncovers an American helicopter that was downed by

friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...

. As the wreckage is inspected, Master Sergeant Sam Harper, one of the burnt bodies within, springs to life and kills a sergeant and a major. He finally dies after muttering, "Don't be afraid, it's only friendly fire!" Sam's body is eventually delivered to his hometown of Twin Rivers, which is preparing for Independence Day. Sam's wife Louise is given custody of the casket containing Sam's remains, which are left in the home of Sam's estranged sister Sally, who lives with her

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

young son, Jody. Sam reanimates as a

revenant In folklore, a revenant is an animated corpse that is believed to have been revived from death to haunt the living. The word ''revenant'' is derived from the Old French word, ''revenant'', the "returning" (see also the related French verb ''reve ...

in the early hours of the Fourth of July, and proceeds to kill and steal the costume of a perverted

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

. Sam then makes his way to a cemetery, where he murders two of three juvenile delinquents who had vandalized tombstones, and

desecrated Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual. Detail Many consider acts of desecration to ...

an American flag. During the Independence Day celebration, in which corrupt congressman Alvin Cummings is visiting, Sam beheads the third delinquent, kills Jody's teacher (who opposed the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

) with a hatchet, and shoots Sally's unscrupulous lawyer boyfriend Ralph in the head. Despite these deaths, the festivities continue, but are thrown into disarray when Sam uses the

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

gear to blow up congressman Cummings, and impales Louise’s deputy boyfriend Phil with an American Flag. As this occurs, Jody is told by his mother and aunt that Sam, his ostensibly heroic idol, was in fact an alcoholic

psychopath Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been ...

who physically and sexually abused them, and only joined the military so he could get a "free pass" to kill people. Jody is told by Barry, a blind boy who has established a mental link with Sam, that the undead Sam is responsible for the deaths. With help from Sam's old mentor Jed, the boys go to Jody's house, where they find the lecherous sergeant Twinning, who dropped Sam off, dead and stuffed inside Sam's coffin. Realizing that Sam will probably go after Louise, the boys and Jed go to her home, where Sam confronts and blames Jed, who told him tales of how glorious combat was, for his current state. Jed retorts by yelling that Sam only killed for the sake of killing rather than for his country. Jed's gun proves ineffective against Sam, so he and Louise go to get Jed's cannon while Jody, who Sam claims is the reason he came back, keeps Sam occupied. Jody lures Sam outside, and Jed blasts him with the cannon, destroying him and Louise's house in flames. The next day, Sally watches as Jody burns all of his war-themed toys after learning the truth about Sam.

Cast

Reception

Dread Central called ''Uncle Sam'' a "way underrated slasher flick," that "does a fine job of bringing the pain while we celebrate our independence," even though it "kind of plods along" and "none of it really makes too much sense." A review by DVD Verdict described the film as "a sluggish, shoddily produced horror/comedy," that was "a by-the-numbers turd that sports embarrassing child actors, C-level stars slumming for a paycheck (oh P.J. Soles, how far you've tumbled...) and a level of suspense that rivals clipping your toenails in a well lit room." ''Uncle Sam'' was also derided by

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

, whose reviewer wrote "Incoherent as social

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

and perfunctory and routine as a horror film, ''Uncle Sam'' is every bit as lazy and uninspired as the ''

Maniac Cop ''Maniac Cop'' is a 1988 American action slasher film directed by William Lustig, written by Larry Cohen, and starring Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Richard Roundtree, William Smith, Robert Z'Dar, and Sheree North. Z'Dar plays th ...

'' films that preceded it."

References

External links

* {{William Lustig 1996 films 1996 horror films 1996 direct-to-video films American black comedy films American comedy horror films American independent films American slasher films Anti-war films Direct-to-video horror films Films about domestic violence Films directed by William Lustig Films set in New Jersey Films set in Kuwait Films shot in California Gulf War films Incest in film Independence Day (United States) films American supernatural horror films Holiday horror films 1990s political films 1990s war films Films with screenplays by Larry Cohen 1990s English-language films 1990s American films