There's a lot of us waiting on this film, probably as many as the LotR fans for their release. Just a reminder that BHT comes out on Tuesday!!!
Don Coscarelli directs and Bruce Campbell stars as the King of Camp in this intentionally over-the-top schlockfest. Bubba Ho-Tep is partially about Elvis Presley and partially about the title character, an Egyptian cowboy zombie, but mostly it is about camp. The movie is equal parts story and back story. We learn through narration and flashback how Elvis didn't really die, ending up instead in a rest home in East Texas with JFK (played by Ossie Davis), who was dyed black and had his brain removed, presumably for reasons of national security. Campbell and Davis realize that something strange is going on when their rest-home compatriots start dropping off suspiciously. The whole movie leads up to a final showdown to the death with the Egyptian cowboy zombie who has been sucking the souls of their fellow residents because he thought no one would notice. The movie unfolds a bit slowly; it is, after all, a geriatrics-fight-Egyptian-cowboy-zombie movie. However, one wishes this self-conscious movie's pacing took its cue from the atypically fast-moving zombie instead of from the senior-citizen Elvis and JFK. In the end, though, Campbell is flawless as the aged King; his accent, intonations, glasses, and trademark karate are at the same time sincere and over the top. --Brian Saltzman
Make no mistake about it, Bubba Ho-Tep is a B-movie, and proud of it. The difference? This B-movie is better than many mainstream movies. It is certainly has the most original premise of the year: Elvis and JFK are alive and living in a rest home in Texas, where they contend with humongous cockroaches and battle against an ancient mummy. Yes, it is odd, and it sure is hilarious. Based on a short story by Joe R. Lansdale (Dead in the West, The Job) and written and directed by Don Coscarelli (Phantasm IV, Phantasm III), Bubba Ho-Tep also manages to successfully navigate the treacherous waters between the poignant and the ridiculous. Still not enough? How about a wonderful performance from cult actor Bruce Campbell.
Because of the types of movies Campbell (Serving Sara, Spider-Man) is usually in, he doesn't get that much respect. When he does appear in larger movies, it is typically in a smaller role. However, he always looks like he's having fun, and, like Bubba Ho-Tep, doesn't take himself that seriously. His work can be cheesy, but it is purposefully cheesy, instead of accidentally so. The premise here is that Elvis (Campbell) never died. He switched places with an Elvis impersonator because he began tiring of the drugs and fame. Later, the impersonator died, leaving him to a future of obscurity (well, he still performed as a fake Elvis). As for Kennedy (Ossie Davis, Dinosaur, Doctor Dolittle), his skin was died black, and here he sits now. Elvis spends most of his time in bed, due to, uh, a painful growth on his penis. This gives him time to look back on life and ponder his mistakes. He wonders about Priscilla and Lisa Marie and other things, and the script is surprisingly deep here. It is moments like this that give Bubba Ho-Tep some heft. Of course, after this, Elvis battles with a gigantic cockroach.
And then the story slowly emerges. Elvis keeps hearing some strange noises, and after some investigation with Kennedy, discover that an ancient Egyptian mummy is sucking the souls from the elderly in the rest home (sucking them from a very interesting place). The two decide that they must stop him. Bubba Ho-Tep does take a while to get moving, but once it does things move pretty quickly. The beginning is more introspective, with Elvis in bed sulking. Coscarelli does this so that the reasons for his renewal are clearer. Basically, Elvis is bored. He needs something to do, and mummy hunting is his ticket back to youth.
http://www.haro-online.com/movies/bubba_ho-tep.html
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