Uncle Sam
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"I thought ghosts were supposed to come out in the dark, not in broad daylight on the Fourth of July!"
—Jed Crowley
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Uncle Sam is a 1997 Slasher Film, created by the duo of Larry Cohen and William Lustig.
During the Gulf War, sadistic door gunner Master Sergeant Sam Harper was killed along with his crew when their helicopter was shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait. Due to the seclusion of the impact site, Sam's charred corpse went undiscovered for three years, but when it was found, he randomly sprung to life and murdered two fellow soldiers, a sergeant and a major, before falling inert. After the double homicide was presumably blamed on enemy forces, Sam's body was collected and shipped to his hometown of Twin Rivers, where it was left in the possession of his family; his wife Louise (who is currently dating local Deputy Phil Burke) and sister Sally (whose son, an awkward and extremely patriotic boy named Jody, idolized Sam, unaware of his violent and troubled past).
As Sam's family and friends (which includes his mentor, former sergeant Jed Crowley, who regrets filling Sam's head with stories of the glories of war) pay their reluctant respects to the dead man, the town prepares for its Fourth of July celebration, which local (and extremely corrupt) congressman Alvin Cummings will be attending, in an attempt to salvage his public image. Unfortunately for Twin Rivers, Sam comes out of hibernation when the clock strikes midnight on July 3rd, kills a perverted Uncle Sam for his costume, and sets about murdering all those he views as unpatriotic, including (but not limited to) flag burners, draft dodgers, tax evaders, stoners and slimy politicians. When Sam ultimately crashes the town's Fourth of July celebration, Jody (who had become disillusioned after learning about Sam's history) and Jed, with help from a crippled boy named Barry Cronin (who has an inexplicable connection to Sam) must work together to send the psycho soldier back to Hell.
- Agony of the Feet: After accidentally knocking a picture of Sam onto the floor, Jody steps on the glass.
- The Alcoholic: Sam, and Clete's father.
- Alien Blood: Sam's blood is black.
- All Part of the Show: Presumably what was going through the minds of the audience, considering how little reaction there is to Congressman Cummings being made apart of the fireworks display (at least until he blows up).
- Amoral Attorney: Ralph.
- An Axe to Grind: Mr. Crandall's death.
- Antagonist Title
- Artificial Limbs: Jed's right leg.
- Asshole Victim: Almost all the victims are given one or two Kick the Dog moments.
- Auto Erotica: A couple are briefly seen making out in an abandoned car.
- Ax Crazy: Sam, even before he became undead. Even if he hadn't enlisted and been killed, he probably would've become a Serial Killer or something anyway.
- Badass Grandpa: Jed.
- Badass Moustache: The major.
- Bald of Awesome: Jed.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Sergeant Twining.
- Black and White Morality: How Jody sees the world, until he's told how big a Complete Monster Sam was.
- Blind Seer: Barry.
- Body Horror: When Sam's face is fully revealed at the end, he looks like a horrible, decayed swamp monster, not a charred corpse.
- Bond One-Liner
- Bound and Gagged: Congressman Cummings.
- Brother-Sister Incest: It's heavily implied that Sam sexually abused Sally.
- Buried Alive: Rick's death.
- Chase Scene: With stilts.
- Chekhov's Gun: Along with Jed's cannon, there's also the spray paint cans Sam knocks Rick out with, and the meat cleaver he uses to kill Jesse.
- Cigar Chomper: The major.
- Comforting the Widow: Why Sergeant Twining enjoys informing soldiers' families of their deaths so much.
- Cool Shades: Congressman Cummings at least thinks so.
- Creepy Cemetery
- Creepy Child: Barry, though Jody also has his moments.
- Cruel and Unusual Death
- Daylight Horror: Jesse and Ralph's deaths.
- Death by Irony: Ralph is shot in the head while dressed as Abraham Lincoln.
- Death by Mocking: Moral? Don't mock America... at least within earshot of a homicidal ghoul.
- Dedication: "For Lucio".
- Developing Doomed Characters: They even admit in the commentary that things take a bit too long to get going.
- Direct to Video
- Disappeared Dad: Sally is apparently divorced.
- Domestic Abuser: Sam.
- Don't Go in The Woods: Jesse gets lost in them during the sack race.
- Draft Dodging: Mr. Crandall.
- Dream Sequence: Jody has a black and white dream in which he and Sam are marching in a Fourth of July parade.
- Dull Surprise: Jody.
- Evil Is Deathly Cold: Sam.
- Evil Uncle: Guess.
- Eye Awaken: Sam, after sensing his grave being desecrated.
- Eyes of Gold: Sam.
- Fainting: Mrs. Cronin's reaction to Sam massacring the Fourth of July celebration.
- Fallen Hero: Sam becomes one to Jody after his aunt and mother tell him what he was really like.
- Fan Service: Some brief T and A.
- Fanservice Extra: The woman Willie spies on.
- Finger-Twitching Revival: Sam likes fidgeting in his coffin.
- Friend or Foe: How Sam died.
- Gender Blender Name: Jody.
- Going Postal: "Way you shoot, you should get a job at the post office!"
- Gorn
- Groin Attack: There were plenty of rumors that said Jed didn't just lose a leg to a landmine.
- Gross Up Close-Up: On the more violent deaths, plus Rick's broken leg.
- Gulf War: Sam died in it.
- Guttural Growler: Sam and the major.
- Hilarious Outtakes: The Stinger shows the actor playing Willie trip while using his stilts.
- Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday: Takes place during the 4th of July.
- Immune to Bullets
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Phil is run through with a flagpole.
- Improvised Weapon: The aforementioned flagpole, most prominently.
- Infernal Retaliation: Attempted by Sam.
- Ironic Nursery Tune: "The Stars and Stripes Forever".
- Licking the Blade: Sam licks his cleaver after cutting Jesse's head off.
- Loophole Abuse: Ralph's specialty.
- Made of Explodium: Louise's house, apparently.
- Malevolent Masked Men: A cheap Uncle Sam mask.
- Man On Fire: Turns out it takes two cannon blasts to kill an undead soldier.
- Menacing Stroll
- Men Are the Expendable Gender: There's only one female victim.
- Mooning: After purposely singing the anthem poorly onstage, Jesse moons the audience.
- Morality Pet: Sam may or may not have actually loved Jody.
- More Dakka: After a simple handgun proves ineffective against Sam, the characters upgrade to a cannon.
- Neck Snap: The sergeant's death.
- Nice Hat: Comes with the costume.
- The Nineties
- No Name Given: Three victims (the sergeant, the major and the barbecue girl) and the mayor.
- Noodle Incident: The fireworks-related accident that disfigured, blinded and crippled Barry.
- Nothing Is Scarier: We don't see how Sam kills Willie with the garden shears.
- Offscreen Teleportation: When Sam is stalking Jesse. It's done in such an absurd way that it has to be parodying this trope.
- Off with His Head: Jesse's death.
- Oh Crap: When Jed spots Sam's discarded mask while trying to call for help.
- Ominous Fog: In the park and cemetery.
- Our Zombies Are Different: Type R.
- Patriotic Fervor
- Peek-a-Boo Corpse: Jesse's severed head being found in the barbecue.
- The Peeping Tom: Willie.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner
- Pretty Little Headshots: Ralph's death.
- Punched Across the Room: Happens to Jed.
- Reaction Shot
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Sam has yellow ones in the film itself, but most artwork (like the above) depicts him with red.
- The Scourge of God
- Scream Discretion Shot: Willie and the barbecue girl's deaths.
- Sealed Evil in a Can
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Jed.
- Shut UP, Hannibal:
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Sam: "Take a good look at me, soldier. You... you made me into this." |
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- Slashed Throat: Sergeant Twining's death.
- Sleazy Politician: Congressman Cummings.
- Sociopathic Soldier: Sam.
- Spiritual Successor: To the Maniac Cop trilogy, arguably.
- The Stoner: The girl manning the barbecue.
- Stuff Blowing Up: The fireworks show going out of control.
- Survivor Guilt: Jed.
- Terrible Trio: Jesse, Clete and Rick.
- Title Drop: Since the killer is named Sam, and he's the main character's uncle, this of course happens a lot.
- Title In: Done three times.
- Trashcan Bonfire: Jody uses one to dispose of his toys right before the credits.
- Uncle Sam Wants You: ... Dead!
- Unnecessary Roughness: It's just a sack race, Jesse.
- Unwilling Suspension: Clete is hung from a flagpole.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: After snapping a sergeant's neck, Sam shoots the corpse several times, killing the nearby major due to the bullets ripping through it.
- Vader Breath
- Villain Opening Scene: Sam killing the sergeant and major who find his crashed helicopter in Kuwait.
- Wait Here: Barry is in a wheelchair and all...
- War Is Hell
- What Happened to the Mouse?: So, along with the sergeant and the major, did Sam kill the other soldiers who found him, or what?
- When the Clock Strikes Twelve: Sam rises from his coffin at exactly midnight.
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