I like how Bill Lustig always puts social commentary into his films. In this case deification of the military or the people in it. At the same time some people will seek jobs with authority to cover up traits of their own that are put to better use in such a field. In this case a soldier who was a possessive domestic abuser and kills to take out his own urges. I think Bill Lustig didn't know the kind of film he wanted to make with this and at times it seems like he's going for suspense over gore. This movie takes a little too long to get going. The kills are better once the movie gets going in the second half and then the practical and makeup effects are better. The killer has an interesting if not prominent motivation. He seems to kill anyone that disrespects the American military or flag. If he were around now I guess half of the professional athletes would be his target. Unfortunately some of the themes in this movie are a little surface level and it is disappointing that the thematic elements are exposition in dialogue with one of the worst and most annoying child acting performances ever by Christopher Ogden.
The movie starts with military officials lead by a mustached William Smith investigating a downed helicopter. Sam Harper, thought dead, springs to life and kills the Major and the Sergeant by shooting them both with a handgun, saying "Don't be afraid, it's inly friendly fire." The film then transitions to the Baker family. Sam's body is given to his wife Louise. Louise lives with Sam's wife Sally and her patriotic son, Jody.
Some of themes start early on in the movie. Jody is overly patriotic. He calls his teacher a coward when his teacher talks about protesting the Vietnam war. He is seen going through Sam's medals and saying anyone who disrespects the country is bad. He has a conversation with Sergeant Jed Crowley (Isaac Hayes) about wanting to be in the military and being a hero. Jed doesn't want him to have those ideas and makes points about how heroes in war are really people who are just lucky they don't get killed. He also talks about not knowing what they are fighting for anymore after all the wars America has been though. While this is interesting this is the only part of the movie this is talked about. Again Jody seems to deify the military and his Uncle and his perspectives. As we learn later his Uncle is not the person to look up to. A connection could be made with nature versus nurture as this type of thing is how so many people have incorrect views on things and it was impressed on them as a child. Unfortunately Christopher Ogden is so annoying in this role you just want to punch him.
Meanwhile Bo Hopkins shows up as a sleazy telegram soldier who brings back Sam's body and tries to get with Louise. Meanwhile two delinquents have burned an American flag and vandalized Sam's tombstone. This disrespect for the American Flag and someone in the military seems to activate him and he comes to life. He kills Bo Hopkins offscreen. He kills a sleazy guy wearing Uncle Sam stilts and takes his costume. There is a nice suspenseful scene here in the woods but there isn't any payoff as the kill cuts before you see him poke the eyes out. The same with the other delinquent getting killed by hanging on the flagpole. The other one is just buried alive. The third delinquent is killed later at a sack relay race during the 4th of July celebration. I have to say this scene is well done. The guy keeps seeing Sam around every bush where he quickly disappears. This third delinquent had all ready insulted the national anthem by singing it in a falsetto type metal voice which is quite amusing. This leads to a great beheading with a meat cleaver.
Both Sally and Louise's boyfriends are killed by Sam, as is Jody's teacher. The teacher gets a nice hatchet through the head kill though it is fairly tame. Louise's boyfriend, the Deputy gets the best kill in the movie as he tries to save a visiting Senator from getting blown up by fireworks. He gets blown back by the explosion and lands on a flagpole that impales him. During this time there are other pointless subplots. Jody's blind friend who had been injured and blinded by fireworks shows up and he has some psychic link with Sam for whatever reason. His mother is played by PJ Soles! Robert Forster also showed up as the Senator. Maniac Cop III had similar problems where random roles wer played by big actors that had no part in the story. Around this time Louise and Sally tell Jody about about how Sam was possessive and abusive towards them. Jed runs into Sam with his Uncle Sam mask on and I gotta say I do like the practical makeup, especially the yellow eyes. This leads to a final confrontation where Jed uses the cannon to blowup Sam in the house. Similar to the Maniac Cop gunshots do nothing to Sam. This is basically Maniac Cop 4 switched to undead military person except the military soldier was all ready a bad guy and Matt Cordell was a good cop.
This movie is a mess. The themes are interesting but only surface level. I do like it when Jed says "You didn't kill for your country, you killed for yourself," which is what the main theme of the movie and what Sam's character is about. There are some great actors only in small parts. A couple of the kills are suspenseful and have a good payoff but some also have great suspense and staging but no payoff. I still have some fun watching it though. The second half is much better than the first. This was made the same year Scream was released and it feels like an 80s exploitation movie made in the 90s and it doesn't have the right look or feel maybe because of that. It is one the last 80s feeling slashers though and is one of the death knells of what the slasher was. I like the gimmick and the look of the killer. Another problem with this movie is some of the core character casting. Both the actors who play Louise and Sally look the exact same. Christopher Ogden is unpleasant to deal with. The actors around them though are quite good. Timothy Bottoms is great as the teacher.
Rating: 5.5/10
Trivia: The film was dedicated to "Lucio," meaning Lucio Fulci.
- SLASHER MOVIE ANATOMY:
- Prior Evil: Killer was "killed" by friendly fire by the military. He comes back alive when he senses that people are disrespecting American traditions and emblems like the American flag or mocking the national anthem.
- Body Count: 12
- Whodunit: No. Similar to Maniac Cop though we find out more about him as the movie goes along
- Mask or outfit: Uncle Sam outfit and mask
- Locale: Small town celebrating Independence Day
- Best Kill: The flagpole impalement
- Gimmick: Killing anyone who disrespects America to him
INSTRUMENTS OF DEATH
- Colt M1911 Handgun
- Flagpole Strings
- Flagpole
- Fireworks
- Grill
- Hatchet
- Meat Cleaver
SLASHER MOVIE TAXONOMY
• Kingdom: Movie
• Phylum: Horror
• Class: Slasher
• Order: Exploitation and supernatural
• Family: Upper body nudity one one woman
• Genus: Realistic in some ways but not in how a person comes back to live. One zombie but everything else is realistic.
• Species: Somewhat dark comedy but still serious.
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