UNCLE SAM (1996)

Director: William Lustig

Writer: Larry Cohen

Producer: George G. Braunstein

Cast: David Shark Fralick, Leslie Neale, Christopher Ogden, Isaac Hayes, Anne Tremko, Bo Hopkins, William Smith, Matthew Flint, Timothy Bottoms, Tim Grimm, Tom McFadden, P.J. Soles, Robert Forster, Zachary McLemore, Richard Cummings, Jr., Morgan Paull, Frank Pesce, Abby Ball, Laura Alcalde, Jason Adelman, Stanton Barrett, Raquel Alessi, Mark Chadwick, Chris Durand, Desirae Klein, Taylor Jones, Jason Lustig, Joseph Vitare, Steve Moramarco, Gary Viggers, Peter Fullerton, Jonathon Stearns, Greg Bronson (uncredited), Howard Kremer (uncredited) 

US Army Master Sergeant Sam Harper (David Shark Fralick) has been killed by friendly fire during Desert Storm in Kuwait. His body is sent back to his hometown for burial just before the Fourth of July. A combination of his nephew Jody’s (Christopher Ogden) hero worship of him and various town citizens disrespecting American patriotic tradition causes Sam Harper to rise from the dead and kill during the July 4th celebrations. 

The Flashback Fanatic movie review

I like to watch date specific horror films during the times of the year that their stories occur. The Fog (1980) deals with an event on April 21st. The date for Bloody Birthday (1981) is June 9th. Urban Legend (1998) is concerned with a college anniversary of an April 23rd atrocity. Of course, there are obvious holiday candidates such as Black Christmas (1974) and My Bloody Valentine (1981), but did you know that Dr. Orloff’s Monster (1964) also takes place during Christmas and that the menace of X-Ray (1982) began on Valentine’s Day? Let’s not forget the date specific film franchises of Halloween and Friday the 13th. The selection of fright flicks that take place during the United States’ Independence Day holiday are pretty sparse, but there are some to choose from, such as Frogs (1972), Jaws (1975), The Return of the Living Dead (1985), and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997). The most overtly July 4th themed horror film is Uncle Sam.

This movie has really grown on me over the years. Uncle Sam is a supernatural slasher flick that I first felt was just a little too arbitrary with its fantasy element. However, upon repeated viewings, I have appreciated that writer Larry Cohen has contrived a lot of incidents, traditions, and character traumas that accidentally combine to realize the dark magic of its undead menace. There is more going on here than just a patriotic version of Jason Voorhees.

It takes quite a while for Sam Harper’s body count to get underway, and I think that is just fine. His nephew Jody’s hero worship and accidental dripping of his own blood on a signed photo of his Uncle Sam, the July 4th holiday, the lack of mourning from other members of Sam’s family, and local sentiments that disrespect patriotic tradition or question nationalism are all combining to enable the magical resurrection of soldier Sgt. Sam Harper. War hero Sam Harper has severe personality faults and grievances. They react to the accumulation of “anti-American” sentiments and behavior in his community to provide the impetus that drives this monster out of his casket to commence his murder spree. Like the best slasher movie villains, there is a strong motivation for the killer’s MO. Unlike a simple EC Comics story of a corpse returning from the dead simply because it wants revenge with no reason provided for that supernatural feat, the Uncle Sam story mixes together a lot of attitudes, behaviors, and traditions that accidentally combine to create the dark zeitgeist that empowers the supernatural phenomenon of Sam Harper’s reanimation. It is still an utterly fantastic event, but the film tries to justify its cause. 

Writer Larry Cohen and director William Lustig are also taking the time to present the themes that this movie is really about that gives the audience something to mull over. They present a child protagonist that demonstrates how naïve it is to glorify war and unquestioning nationalism. They also present the dark side of some military figures and the cynicism of some civilians. All of these characters are a part of the country’s institutions or engage in the patriotic celebrations, yet that does not validate their character and behavior. 

Like all of the best holiday themed slasher films, Uncle Sam finds plenty of holiday traditions and symbols to riff on. This provides much of the fun to be found in the story. The festive July 4th pastimes of barbeques, live music, fireworks, parades, and community gatherings are threatened by the deadly presence of the undead Uncle Sam.

There is also plenty of dark humor to be found in the various characters’ cynicism and hypocrisies. Unsavory and petty conduct by people in uniform (Bo Hopkins and Matthew Flint), vain and opportunistic conduct by a politician (Robert Forster), tax cheating enabled by a lawyer (Tim Grimm), and disrespect shown to the American flag and the national anthem are all punished. I enjoy the fates that some of these jerks suffer, yet I still realize that there is also a very evil nationalism doling out the punishment. Even by the purest standards of patriotism, not all of Sam’s victims deserve what they get. Writer Cohen brings a unique sense of unease to many of his films by tweaking subject matter often considered sacred such as childbirth in It’s Alive (1974), religion and divinity in God Told Me To (1976), and patriotism in Uncle Sam. 

Lest anyone think that Uncle Sam is nothing more than an anti-military film, it also has the Korean War veteran character Sgt. Jed Crowley played by Isaac Hayes. This character is sympathetic and presents the good side of the American military man. He makes the case that war is not about macho glory and that the reasons for these conflicts are not always clear, which could mean that they are not always justified. 

Uncle Sam is not meant to be an America bashing film. It is a nationalism bashing film. It is examining the conflicted feelings about the nation’s wartime past and present. It makes the point that flags, uniforms, and traditions do not validate national policy or justify war.

Despite these sober concerns, Uncle Sam does not forget to be a fun and nasty horror film. Once it establishes its dark themes and its zombie villain, it lets loose. From a patriotic Peeping Tom on stilts to the worst performance of the national anthem ever, Uncle Sam amuses at the same time it abuses the nation’s holiday traditions.