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Released by: Blue Underground
Released on: 6/29/2010
Director: William Lustig
Cast: Leslie Neal, Christopher Ogden, Isaac Hayes, David Fralick, Bo Hopkins, Anne Tremko
Year: 1987
The Movie:
From Larry Cohen and William Lustig, the writer/director team that brought you the Maniac Cop films, comes Uncle Sam. The film begins as we find that Sam Harper (David Fralick who starred alongside Don 'The Dragon' Wilson in the phenomenal Night Hunter) was killed in Kuwait when his helicopter was brought down by friendly fire during the first Gulf War.
Back in the United States though, his family has carried on without him. Harper's wife, Louise (Anne Tremko), lived in fear of her husband and when she finally, after not knowing for three years, finds out that her husband is in fact dead, is able to move on with her life. Seeing as she's already struck up a relationship with the local sheriff, this doesn't seem to be too difficult for her.
The only one who seems to really miss Sam is Jody, his young nephew. Jody (Christopher Ogden) is the only son of Sam's sister, Sally (Leslie Neale) and he idolizes his uncle and sees him as a truly patriotic hero. When Sam's coffin is brought back to the States so that he can receive a proper burial, he rises from the dead and begins killing off all those he deems unpatriotic. On the fourth of July, he steals an Uncle Sam costume from one of his victims and heads over to the town's celebration where there is no shortage of victims to prey on.
When Jody finds out from a retired disabled veteran named Jed (Isaac Hayes of Truck Turner and South Park) that his 'Uncle Sam' wasn't a patriot at all but was actually a maniac who enjoyed killing people, he teams up with Jed. Together, and with the aid of a wheelchair bound boy who was injured in last years Fourth Of July celebration, they set out to stop his uncle once and for all.
Similar in tone theme to the aforementioned Maniac Cop films, Uncle Sam is sadly a rather lackluster affair that takes too long to get going and doesn't pay off well enough in the end. The zombified killer looks good but spends most of his time covered in a mask that is cornier than it is scary. A few good kills show up at the end when Sam gets to the celebration and Isaac Hayes is likeable as always in his role. A couple of guest appearances (look for Robert Forster of Vigilante, Tom McFadden of A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2, and P.J. Soles of Rock N Roll High School in cameo roles) keep things hopping towards the end, especially when the action picks up but it all feels like it's too little too late. The film can't decide if it wasn't to be a social satire, an anti-war statement, or a straight up horror/slasher/zombie film and ultimately doesn't end up doing a particularly good job as any of them.
The camera work is nice (a stand out shot of the coffin moving into the house is slick looking) and the pyrotechnics at the end of the film are nicely done, but it isn't enough to save what could have been an interesting film.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Uncle Sam hits Blu-ray in a very solid AVC encode 2.35.1 1080p high definition anamorphic widescreen transfer that pretty much smokes the standard definition release that came out a few years back. The colors look bolder and stronger and more natural while the image is clean, clear and far more detailed despite the fact that the transfer arrives with the film's grain intact. You'll see the odd minor speck of print damage here and there if you really want to look for it, but it's not distracting or problematic. Black levels are good, there aren't any compression artifacts to note or any heavy edge enhancement. All in all, this is a pretty good transfer and while the detail here doesn't rival the latest big budget blockbuster Blu-ray release, for an older film shot with a modest budget, it certainly gets a very respectable high definition makeover.
Blue Underground offers up a DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio mix and a Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound mix with optional subtitles provided in English SDH, French and Spanish. The DTS-HD mix is the one to go for if you've got the hardware to decode it as not only does it offer a bit more spatial dynamics and directional effects work but it's got a stronger lower end and more powerful bass than the Dolby Digital mix. Regardless, both tracks offer clean dialogue, well balanced levels and problem free listening.
The extras on this disc are carried over from the previous Blue Underground standard definition release. The first of the two commentary tracks finds director William Lustig joined by actor Isaac Hayes for an informative discussion that runs the entire length of the film. Lustig dominates the discussion lending all sorts of information about the film with Hayes chiming in occasionally offering a few tidbits here and there. It's a good commentary and at times is more interesting than the feature itself. This track actually appeared on the old Elite release before the Blue Underground reissue.
There's also a second commentary track on this disc, again featuring Lustig, this time joined by writer Larry Cohen and producer George C. Braunstein. This track is even better than the first one. Cohen and Lustig have worked together a lot and their camaraderie makes for a lot of anecdotes and interesting stories coming to light. Braunstein chimes in when he can, lending a different slant to the proceedings and once again, this track is actually more interesting than the feature itself.
Up next is a behind-the-scenes featurette that focuses on the fire stunts used in the film. Stunt coordinator Spiro Razatos (who also worked with Lustig and Cohen on the three Maniac Cop films) gives commentary over top of this footage, explaining some of the difficulties encountered in the pyrotechnics used in the finale of the film. 'How'd they do that?' junkies should get a kick out of this piece as it goes into detail about a fairly specific aspect of the stunt work used in the film.
A theatrical trailer, a gag reel, a deleted scene, and a decent sized poster and still gallery round out the extra features on this release. All of the extra features are presented in standard definition except the trailer, which is in HD.
The Final Word:
Uncle Sam is a goofy movie that doesn't provide any real scares but it does have a few interesting moments that make it worth sitting through. Blue Underground has done a very good job with this Blu-ray release, combining strong audio and video with some interesting extra features and the increase in picture quality should make this a tempting upgrade for the film's fans.