Bubba Ho-Tep

BUBBA HO-TEP is the result of a "perfect storm" of sorts. First, the source material was put in the hands of a proven master of macabre weirdness, Director Don Coscarelli (PHANTASM 1-4, JOHN DIES AT THE END). Then, the perfect casting of Bruce "The Chin" Campbell (THE EVIL DEAD 1-3) as decrepit, rest home prisoner, Elvis Presley, and living legend Ossie Davis as fellow inmate, John F. Kennedy clinched the deal.

The resulting movie is a beautiful experiment in sheer lunacy... that works brilliantly! Campbell shows what made him all-3-Stooges-in-one in EVIL DEAD 2, as his hilarious inner and outer dialogue make up the bittersweet, comedic heart and soul of the film. Obviously, a murderous mummy's rest home rampage is primo stuff for Campbell.

However, what sets this movie apart from other horror comedies is it's setting, and the way it handles the bleakness of old age. In spite of all of the side-splitting humor and oddness, the true terror lies in growing old and being forgotten, making a cowboy hat-wearing mummy a welcome distraction. Coscarelli captured lightning in a bedpan here. Watching it is like whistling, giggling, and defiantly marching past the graveyard.

EXTRA CREDIT FOR: Ella Joyce as Elvis' no-nonsense nurse...

An elderly Elvis impersonator (or maybe the King himself) and a demented Black man (or maybe J. F. K.) discover that their cut-rate nursing home is being haunted by a soul-sucking pseudo-Texan mummy. Despite some pointless 'gross-out' humour, this off-beat comedy-horror is fun and oddly affecting. Cult-fav Bruce Campbell is pretty good as the maybe-Elvis and his impressions of the King's classic mannerisms (and karate moves) is hilarious. Ossie Davis as a possibly dyed 35th POTUS is just strange and the rest of the cast are mostly props to hang sight-gags on, mostly. Not for everyone but if you like this sort of thing, 'Bubba Ho-Tep' is almost as good as its title.

"Bubba Ho-tep" is a low budget movie that went for the B-movie feel on purpose, accomplishing its goal of being a "fine" piece of pop culture weirdness. The story is set in a current-day East Texas rest home and focuses on two residents who believe they are Elvis and JFK--the JFK character just happens to be black, and the rest home also houses a few other crazies, including the Lone Ranger. Elvis and JFK soon learn that an Egyptian mummy--who was stolen from his traveling museum exhibition--has come to life in their neighborhood and is killing the rest home residents by sucking their life force out their backsides (you can harvest a soul through "any major orifice," you know). Eventually, our decrepit heroes realize that only they can meet the mummy in a showdown.

The film is really a clever piece of pop culture mythology, working up hilarious back stories for JFK (Ossie Davis who is recognizable from, at the very least, several Spike Lee films) and Elvis (Bruce Campbell of the "Evil Dead" movies). Campbell's performance is particularly excellent, Don Coscarelli's as director did a perfect job finding the right mood and balance of humor for the film, and the leisurely plot--from Joe Lansdale's original novella--is totally engaging and a cinephile's dream.

Sebastian Haff is growing old in the Shady Rest Convalescence Home in Mud Creek, Texas. Sebastian Haff likes to be called by his real name, which is Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell). Also in the home is JFK (Ossie Davis), who is now an elderly black man. Both Elvis and JFK are in their twilight years and well and truly past their prime.

There are problems at night in the convalescence home as an unfriendly predator stalks the home for souls to steal. Elvis and his friend JFK team up to rid the home of the unfriendly predator.

The story is quite unusual and fun, there is comedy and some mild horror. The touching part is Elvis questioning his young life, and the dramas and challenges of dealing with old age. The soul searching from Elvis lifts the quality of the movie from being just another B grade movie.

Its a low budget movie and a bit dated by now, but the good performances of Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis carry the movie well.

I was expecting a little bit better movie from reading some reviews. However I was not disappointed with the move due to it being both quirky and sensitive.

The Evil Dead series already made it pretty clear and – after Bubba Ho Tep – there's nobody who should question this statement ever again: Bruce Campbell is one major cool dude! Campbell stars as Elvis. Old, fat and supposedly out of his mind, he's a resident in an East-Texas rest home. An ancient Egyptian mummy that has been stolen from a museum wanders around in the area, soul-feeding on the weak victims of the nursery home. Elvis, tired of his indigent and pathetic life, teams up with a black man who thinks he's former president Kennedy to destroy the mummy once and for all. The story of Bubba Ho-Tep is remarkably simple… Too simple actually, and if it wasn't for Campbell and a few ingenious gimmicks, this would have been an unnoticed and forgettable comedy/horror film. Bruce gives away an outstanding performance and he is the KING in ways you can't imagine. The saddening, self-criticizing monologues he gives while lying on the hospital bed are some of the best lines in recent cinema and his charisma speaks for itself. Veteran Ossie Davis gives great feedback as the 'president', seeing conspiracies wherever he looks.

The comedy aspects of Bubba Ho-Tep show right away, yet it also is a subtle drama, criticizing the way we often mistreat our elderly by placing them in a home and leaving them to their own devices. It is these outcasts that fight back here and save the day! Bubba Ho-Tep is filled with appealing one-liners and imaginative findings. How about the idea of a 2000-year-old mummy writing stuff like 'Cleopatra does the nasty' on a toilet's wall, like we all did in high school? The film also depends on the professional directing skills of Don Coscarelli. He finally found a worthy successor for his classic horror franchise 'Phantasm', even though that premise was a lot more complex and horrific. Recommended to fans of pop-culture flicks and bizarre gems. One of the better genre films since the new Millennium.

Hail to the King, baby!