Uncle Sam (1996)

Directed by William Lustig [Other horror films: Maniac (1980), Maniac Cop (1988), Maniac Cop 2 (1990), Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1992)]

Uncle Sam might be a good example of a movie that’s better in concept than execution. It’s not a bad film, but I think there was a lot more potential here than what the final product displayed, and while portions were solid, I definitely think the movie could have been more memorable.

I think the basic plot is fun, which deals with the resurrection of a soldier who was killed by friendly fire in Kuwait going around his hometown and killing people. Some of the people he kills seems to be for ideological reasons – such as him going after a teacher who protested Vietnam back in the 1960’s – but others seem to be pure revenge, such as his wife who has moved on.

What makes the story mildly more interesting is that there’s a nephew of his, played by Christopher Ogden, who is quite the patriotic youth, and despite the fact his Uncle Sam wasn’t the nicest person in the world, the kid looks up to him, and respects him. He wants to join the military when he’s older, and do whatever the president tells him to, because “he knows best.”

I don’t know if this movie was intentionally attacking the idea of blind patriotism. I’d like to think so, and the poem spoken during the credits – ‘Desert Storm’ recited by William Smith (yes, the actor, who also has a small role in the film) – leads me to that conclusion, but even if the story is just supposed to be a story (fans of Stephen King’s best novel It should catch that reference), I do enjoy what I perceive as the anti-war message, which is best delivered by Isaac Hayes’ character, who was a soldier himself, and lost a leg in Korea.

And this might go without saying, but this movie never could have been made even five years later. After 9/11, patriotism was at an all-time high (along with other delightful things, like illogical wars and xenophobic attitudes toward Muslims, or those who could almost “look” Muslim, such as Sikhs or Hindus), and movies that questioned such fervent and emotional attitudes probably wouldn’t have done too well. None of this makes Uncle Sam a good movie, but it does make it an interesting movie to look at, at least through the political climate of the nearby years.

The main problem here is that the movie is simply adequate. Some of the kills are solid, such as someone being hung from a flagpole, or a cannon being shot at someone, or even someone getting stabbed by a flag, but I’d argue none of these are great kills, and even the decapitation here doesn’t really stand out. A lot of the film feels somewhat tepid, and while it’s nice to see a slasher shortly before Scream brings the subgenre back to prominence, I can see why this might not do a lot to advance love of the genre.

Of course, none of this is supposed to say the movie’s bad, because I don’t think it is. I think some elements are a bit off, such as Zachary McLemore’s wheelchair-bound character’s unspecified relationship with Uncle Sam, but the movie’s still palatable. It’s just that I think the story had a lot more potential, and while I’m glad they veered away from heavy comedy (there’s surprisingly few one liners here from the killer, which I appreciated), maybe that approach would have given the film a bit more flavor. At the very least, Uncle Sam’s costume design was pretty solid.

Christopher Ogden was good as the patriotic kid, and though I didn’t care for his blind worship of the military, he’s a young boy, and made a fascinating main character. Anne Tremko and Leslie Neale weren’t that relevant, but did have one good scene. Isaac Hayes took a bit to appear, but I rather enjoyed him, and while she didn’t do much at all, it was sort of nice seeing P.J. Soles (Halloween, B.O.R.N., and Carrie) here.

Like I said at the beginning, I think the concept of Uncle Sam is stronger than the final product. Make no mistake, this movie is superior to films like The Tripper, but it’s also true that William Lustig made a much more memorable film in Maniac Cop.

7/10