Bubba Ho-Tep (2003)
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Theatrical Release: Sep 19, 2003 Limited
Synopsis: Don Coscarelli's BUBBA HO-TEP finds Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) alive but not so well, living in a small Texas nursing home. Although he's preoccupied with his ailments and his memories, the elderly Elvis befriends another resident who thinks he's John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis) when they... Don Coscarelli's BUBBA HO-TEP finds Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) alive but not so well, living in a small Texas nursing home. Although he's preoccupied with his ailments and his memories, the elderly Elvis befriends another resident who thinks he's John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis) when they both begin to suspect that their neighbors aren't dying of natural causes. Their investigation leads to the discovery of an evil mummy with a fondness for cowboy gear and an appetite for the souls of senior citizens. Armed with little more than a walker and a wheelchair, the King and JFK must take on this ancient evil. Based on a short story by Joe R. Lansdale, BUBBA HO-TEP mixes comedy, drama, and horror to create a remarkably quirky film. As the aged and ailing Elvis, Campbell gives an outstandingly funny and poignant performance, while Davis exudes intelligence and warmth as JFK. Although horror is a key element of the story, much of the movie focuses on the life of Elvis and his new friendship with the former president, leading to many oddly comical scenes and even a few genuinely touching moments. Of course, their embalmed foe and his creepy minions must be confronted, making this the first movie about Elvis and JFK to appeal to horror enthusiasts, or, conversely, the first horror movie to appeal to Elvis and JFK enthusiasts. Either way, it's a highly unconventional tale that no adventurous filmgoer should miss. [More]
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce, Larry Pennell, Bob Ivy
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
A mismatched marriage of offbeat character study and unimaginative horror riffs.
Writer-director Don Coscarelli piles on unpleasant details and cynical asides as if they were the stuff of wisdom, though they seem intended to produce guffaws rather than thoughts
This absurdly clever caper is elevated by Bruce Campbell's pensive Elvis into a moving meditation on the diminutions of age and the vagaries of fame.
Don Coscarelli still doesn't know how to make cookie-cutter genre films. Let's hope he never learns how.
Not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but there's enough here to entertain even those for whom 'cult' is a four-letter word.
There’s plenty of scatological humour and knockabout fun to get one through the slower passages.
It’s outrageous and full of novel ideas that will tickle the fancy of anyone who is stimulated by the absurd.
There may be some deeper meaning to all this madness about living beyond your prime and regret, but it just barely escapes me how it all fits in
the true horror here, far from being some middle-eastern revenant in a cowboy hat, is the indignity of disease, the anonymity of old age, and the inevitability of death
A sharply written, surprisingly moving little film with a terrific performance by Bruce Campbell.
Bubba Ho-Tep tries ineffectually to be both a lyrical character study and a darkly satirical horror flick.
About halfway through this offbeat horror comedy you realise you're watching a cult classic.
Actually pretty quiet and could be considered seriously pensive if it wasn't for its inherent goofiness.
Fry up a peanut butter and 'nana sandwich, hop in your Cadillac and take one last ride with the King.
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