Herschell Gordon Lewis, aka the Godfather of Gore, has still got it! By “it,” of course, I mean goofy jokes, amateurish acting, not-much-better direction, loads of gross-out shots and generally dirt-cheap production values, but if it all adds up to pure entertainment, who cares? The Uh-Oh! Show is the end of that equation. I kinda loved it.
Only Lewis’ second film since 1972, The Uh-Oh! Show is a schizophrenic comedy centered around a demented game show of the same name, in which correct answers garner priceless prizes for its contestants, but also in which incorrect answers take limbs away from them, courtesy of one Radial Saw Rex, a large, African-American man who uses his electric tool like a phallus. The body part to go is chosen by a spin of the Wheel of Misfortune. No anesthetic is offered.
Producers want to bring the hit cable series to network prime time, but not without changes that greatly upset host Jackie (Brooke McCarter, Thrashin’). Meanwhile, a nosy reporter (Nevada Caldwell) wants to expose the show for the people-killin’ vehicle it truly is, and Uh-Oh! somehow morphs into a quasi-anthology that turns fairy tales into splatter stories.
Supplemented with boobs, boners and buckets of blood, The Uh-Oh! Show also comes packed with oodles of Lewis’ charm, evident from the start as he essentially hosts the film itself, sometimes commenting on how terrible it is. But his brand of terrible is different from other kinds of terrible, in that it translated to insanely watchable. I laughed a lot in its 88 minutes, all with it, as opposed to at it. Those with strong stomachs and an affection for his glory days of Blood Feast should do the same. —Rod Lott