 Limited Collector's Edition Tagline: The King Of The Dead vs. The King Of Rock N' Roll. Bruce Campbell (the Evil Dead trilogy) "gives his greatest and most entertaining performance to date" (Premiere) as an aging and cantankerous "Elvis" in this "zinger-filled crowd-pleaser" (The Hollywood Reporter) from writer-director Don Coscarelli (Phantasm)! When mysterious deaths plague a Texas retirement home, it's up to its most sequined senior citizen to take on a 3,000 year old Egyptian mummy with a penchant for cowboy boots, bathroom graffiti and sucking the souls from the barely living! Storyline: Based on the Bram Stoker Award nominee short story by cult author Joe R. Lansdale, Bubba Ho-tep tells the "true" story of what really did become of Elvis Presley. We find Elvis (Bruce Campbell) as an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home, who switched identities with an Elvis impersonator years before his "death", then missed his chance to switch back. Elvis teams up with Jack (Ossie Davis), a fellow nursing home resident who thinks that he is actually President John F. Kennedy, and the two valiant old codgers sally forth to battle an evil Egyptian entity who has chosen their long-term care facility as his happy hunting grounds. Written by Eric Shovanda Cast Notes: Bruce Campbell (Elvis Presley/Sebastian Haff), Ossie Davis (John F. "Jack" Kennedy), Ella Joyce (The Nurse), Heidi Marnhout (Callie), Bob Ivy (Bubba Ho-tep), Edith Jefferson (Elderly Woman), Larry Pennell (Kemosabe), Reggie Bannister (Rest Home Administrator), Daniel Roebuck (Hearse Driver), Daniel Schweiger (Hearse Driver), Harrison Young (Bull Thomas, Elvis' Roommate), Linda Flammer (Room Nurse), Cean Okada (Attending Nurse), Solange Morand (Iron Lung Lady), Karen Placencia (Baby). User Comment: underfire35 Chicago, USA • BUBBA HO-TEP is a wonderful example of the unfettered creativity of independent film. This story would not have been filmed within the cloistered dank ruins of the Hollywood assembly line, whose job it is to churn out formula productions, bloated with CGI effects and devoid of any original concepts. So it is certainly refreshing that we have an alternative market where a film like BUBBA HO-TEP can get made. The film is full of odd characters, surreal situations, off the wall humor, and a surprising amount of depth and warmth. The film creates a specific atmosphere of realism; all I can say is that if an elderly Elvis, aided by a black man who thinks he is JFK, had to fight an evil spirit in a Texas rest home, it would probably happen just like this. As the film opens we find Elvis (Bruce Campbell), now pushing seventy, laid up in an old folk's home with various infirmities. Through a series of flashbacks we learn that Elvis had switched lives with an impersonator, which allowed him to step out of the limelight. Well, the faux Elvis dies on a toilet in 77' and the real Elvis breaks his hip while on stage. All this he explains to the head nurse (Ella Joyce), who dismisses the old man's story as delusional rambling (which would be a common reaction for a rest home orderly). The only friend Elvis seems to have is Jack (Ossie Davis), who thinks he is JFK stowed away after surviving the assassination. Jack is a real crackpot, who reads tabloid psychology books and skin mags; he gives his dubious sage advice with a deadpan conviction. This knowledge comes in handy, however, when the two elderly men are faced with a soul sucking mummy whose spirit has escaped during a bus crash in the small Texas town where they live. This "Bubba ho-tep" is draining the life force from the occupants of the rest home, until Elvis and Jack decide to take a stand and attempt to vanquish the foul creature once and for all...... Okay, a movie like this could go either way; in this case it goes the right way. The makers of BUBBA HO-TEP find the perfect tone for the material. The writer/director Don Coscarelli, adapting a story by cult writer Joe R. Lansdale, wisely focuses on the characters. Elvis and Jack are given a proper treatment, detailed and quirky. Consider the scenes in which Elvis reflects on his past life, his daughter and his wife. They are sad and poetic, above the standard fare of your run-of-the-mill horror flick. In fact the story isn't really about the mummy at all, it's about two old men who reclaim their freedom and rebel against a dark force that is closing in on them, something that they cannot control. They find in this conflict with the unknown something to fight for, a reason to live. Bruce Campbell delivers the best performance of his career, and quite possibly of 2003 (as well as compounding his cult hero status). He doesn't overplay the accent or the in-jokes, it is not just an imitation, but a wonderfully organic representation of an icon past his prime. Ossie Davis is just as good, a fine actor with a sly sense of humor. Daniel Vecchione's production design is also worth noting, as well as Brian Tyler's eclectic musical score which adds another layer of quiet emotion to many scenes (and also diverts attention from the fact that the production could not afford to use a single Elvis song). Sure to be a cult classic, BUBBA HO-TEP transcends the genre and should be explored by those seeking an alternative to the mind numbing assault of Hollywood product. 10/10. Summary: A Strange Kind Of Masterpiece.............. IMDb Rating (08/05/09): 7.4/10 from 20,781 users
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