Following the horror that people lives in during the summer of 1970 in America, where a serial killer named Son of Sam, who begins to make serial murders brutally, the thing that makes people fear and leads them to investigate in the case, in order to catch that killer and save the security of America.
Whatever you think of Spike Lee, when he has the faith in his talent and material and is able to be political without the dogma, he's one of the best filmmakers to come out of America in the 1980's.
The disappointment with Summer of Sam is not that it's exploitative; it's just difficult to figure out what it's supposed to be about.
Los Angeles Times
February 14, 2001
Lee is a powerful filmmaker who certainly knows how to have an impact on an audience, but those who survive his ministrations are likely to wonder if in this case the battle was worth the bruises.
This ultimately disappoints, but it is good to see Lee branch out into subjects which don't immediately lend themselves to his single-minded politicizing.
