To find Bruce Campbell in a part drama, part horror film is more than a little surprising. He doesn’t often act our serious roles that well, but in Bubba Ho-Tep he shoes an understated, but brilliantly charismatic performance, alongside the enjoyable Ossie Davis.
Based on a short story, and directed by the creator of the Phantasm series of low-budget B-movie horror films, Don Coscarelli, Bubba Ho-Tep is a story about an ageing Elvis Presley who’s living in a nursing home. That’s right, he didn’t die, he was switched with an over eating Elvis impersonator; the real Elvis lived (played by Bruce Campbell).
John F Kennedy (Ossie Davis) apparently also survived, he’s convinced he’s been dyed black in order to ensure that his life is not taken a second time, and didn’t die either. Sure they shot a bullet right through his brain, but apparently it’s made him more sensitive to his surroundings and he can sense things others cannot.
The two come together when a series of strange murders occur, which it’s later discovered to have been carried out by a 3,000 year old mummy donning cowboy boots, a hat, and a rather vicious scarab (ancient, mythical beetle). Now out of it’s coffin, it’s come back to life and is intent on sucking the souls out of it’s old age victims from any orifice it can find. Elvis and JFK have other plans for the Egyptian nuisance.
Bubba Ho-Tep is mostly a drama, as the viewer is drawn into feel sympathy for the ageing character who gave up fame, his wife, and his daughter to choose a life of freedom and anonymity. Now in his 70s, wondering if he’ll ever get an erection again, and pondering on whether he made too many mistakes in his life and made the wrong decisions. Alone, desperate and unhappy, Elvis tends to let the world speed by as he tries to catch a glimpse of what’s going on around him.
Campbell is in magnificent form, acquiring the attitude of a man who’s lost everything; he’s grumpy, lethargic and cares little for those around him. It’s only when the rather eccentric JFK (again, brilliantly played by Ossie Davis) starts talking about running away from the problem that Elvis starts to realise that this is his last home, his last stand and makes the choice to step forward and kick the arse of the King of the Dead (or distant cousin in this case, rather than king).
The film had an incredibly low budget, with pretty much all of it being shot in one location. Only three corridors are ever used in the film, and it was shot in an abandoned house which was done up from what I understand. The horror elements are not frightening in anyway, simply because Campbell makes such a mockery of the situation by pulling out his dance poses to fend of the scarab or the mummy. It reminds you that when the remake Evil Dead, if Campbell is not Ash, it’s not Evil Dead. He’s able to define a film, and I can’t think of anyone else who could have played the part of an ageing Elvis better. It’s great to see Campbell is back to working on films (albeit TV and B-movie horrors), since his Evil Dead heydays.
Bubba Ho-Tep is very a much a modern day cult B-movie, just as Evil Dead was back in its day. It’s an acquired taste, but one which will gain momentum and quiet appreciation and will be considered a very entertaining and enjoyable film. It’s slow paced, but tightly directed and never a bore to watch. The chemistry between Campbell and Davis is excellent, and the battle that ensues is both hilarious and tragic. There are a lot of moments where I did laugh till it hurt my jaw, which is ironic seeing as this big-budget films such as Shrek fail to even make me smile. How can you not find a slow-walking mummy being outrun by a black man with senile dementia who thinks his JFK and rides a wheelchair?
Lansdale himself is a gifted and energetic writer. Although based on his short story, he has written many others and if you have an interest in writing that is slightly verging on the abstract, but rooted in a twisted reality, then I highly recommend checking out his works. The choice of the Elvis tale is perhaps the ideal choice, though several of his works have great potential to be adapted into something more.
The sequel is rumoured to be in the works, though no script has been forthcoming, a provisional title of Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She Vampire. Campbell has already agreed to star in it as the king once again (I’m guessing both films will be unrelated, and any events in the first film will never have happened). This film won’t be for everyone, and as I state, it’s an acquired taste. Perhaps a little more action and less of Elvis’s past, as well as a slightly quicker pace would have made the film that little more accessible, but as it is I like it anyway.
Verdict: Grab Bubba Ho-Tep for some silly, B-movie fun