Bubba Ho-Tep

"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.

I laughed when a friend suggested this movie. "Yeah, right," I answered, eyes rolled up.

"Well," he finally said a few weeks later, "Here, just look at it. Take my copy and bring it back."

"Okay, " I answered, "what do I have to lose? "

Obviously, I was shocked. This has to be one of the all-time surprises I've ever encountered in movie-watching. Who would have thought this film was this good? Talk about "original!" This is about as original and entertaining as they come, and, as I have stated in several other reviews, entertainment is the name of the game....so I have to rank this film right up there with my favorites.

I refuse to detail the story because the more you explain what it's about, the stupider is sounds and the less likely you will give it a shot.

I will say Bruce Campbell does a fabulous job of imitating Elvis Presley. In fact, he is the best I have ever heard, speaking-voice-wise. Ossie Davis is also a hoot as the old black man who thinks he's President John F. Kennedy. See? I can't say more, because it gets worse, story-wise, the more you explain.

Just trust me that if you appreciate dark humor with some horror thrown in, you'll love it. It's a bit sleazy and the language is very rough, so be ready for that. I guess you could say this "is not for all tastes." You have to be a little warped to enjoy this, but most of us are to some degree.

Be also be ready for one of the oddest films you've ever seen.

I must confess I had reservations prior to seeing this film. I thought it would be some God-awfully childish film laden with sophomoric jokes, cheesy effects, and inane dialogue. Some of those elements do surface, but this film was a genuine pleasure to sit through. Imagine if you can that Elvis, the King of Rock and Roll, switched places with an Elvis impersonator and now lives a sad, lost life in a small, run-down nursing home in East Texas. Add to the mix Ozzie Davis as a man convinced he is John F. Kennedy and a mummy that sucks the souls of geriatric residents and you have the basic premise behind Bubba Ho-tep. But beyond all that and the jokes about Elvis's genitalia and other low brow references is a film with a tremendous amount of heart and a message about the elderly in our society and how we have, as a society, betrayed them and cast them aside. The script and effective direction of Phantasm's Don Coscarelli make this film work on several levels. It is a comedy. It is a drama. It is a horror film. It has all those elements. You care about the characters and are drawn into this seedy little world. The biggest asset the film has is its performances. Davis gives a fine turn and adds credibility to the film, but Bruce Campbell as the king just bowled me over. I had seen him before, but I had never seen him act like this before. You soon forget Campbell is acting and think Elvis is really there - now 68 and destitute. Campbell's inflection, mannerisms, and poise melt and fuse wonderfully into Elvis. This was one of the very pleasant surprises that come along every so often.

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...