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Movies / On DVD / Bubba Ho-Tep
Bubba Ho-Tep

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Bubba Ho-Tep (2003)

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Reviews Counted:27

Fresh:19

Rotten:8

Average Rating:6/10

Consensus: The best movie to star both the King and JFK.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, some sexual content and brief violent images

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

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... 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]

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce, Larry Pennell

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce, Larry Pennell, Bob Ivy, Daniel Roebuck, Reggie Bannister

Director: Don Coscarelli

Director: Don Coscarelli
Screenwriter: Don Coscarelli
Producer: Don Coscarelli
Studio: Vitagraph Films

[See More Credits]

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Release:

May 25, 2004

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Reviews for Bubba Ho-Tep

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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A mismatched marriage of offbeat character study and unimaginative horror riffs.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/24/07
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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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

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 1 Comment
09/24/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
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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.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
08/14/07
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
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Fry up a peanut butter and 'nana sandwich, hop in your Cadillac and take one last ride with the King.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
04/08/04
Michael Senft
Michael Senft
Arizona Republic
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Neither particularly funny nor scary, but tiresome.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/09/04
Michael O'Sullivan
Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post
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In the end, what keeps it going is not the story but the delicious relationship between Elvis and JFK.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/09/04
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
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Bubba Ho-Tep takes care of business, baby.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
12/04/03
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Often hilarious low-budget romp.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
11/26/03
Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison
Houston Chronicle
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Bubba Ho-Tep succeeds as goofy-yet- tender wish fulfillment, offering an Elvis who tries to redeem his self-indulgent persona and become a hero. It fails as the sort of Campbell vehicle that wears out VCRs and haunts midnight-movie houses.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
11/21/03
Vic Vogler
Vic Vogler
Denver Post
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Bubba Ho-Tep offers plenty of tasty warped humor but doesn't have quite enough comic gas to become a cult classic.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
11/21/03
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
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Bubba Ho-tep may sound bizarre, but it's a lot of fun.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
10/30/03
Charles Ealy
Charles Ealy
Dallas Morning News
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Coscarelli, who brought us four volumes of Phantasm, is a surefooted B-movie journeyman, and for Bubba Ho-Tep he's in a generously lunatic mood.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
10/17/03
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
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Campbell gives another notable acrobatic performance, which is saying something for an actor who has spent the best part of his career getting knocked around by ghosts and ghouls.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
10/17/03
John Monaghan
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press
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It has the damnedest ingratiating way of making us sit there and grin at its harebrained audacity, laugh at its outhouse humor, and be somewhat moved (not deeply, but somewhat) at the poignancy of these two old men and their situation.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/17/03
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Coscarelli ... can't quite conjure a complete movie out the concept and stretches the material until its humorous conceits repeat ad nauseum.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
10/16/03
Kevin M. Williams
Kevin M. Williams
Chicago Tribune
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Surprisingly good as a quirky triumph of human spirit.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
10/10/03
Peter Hartlaub
Peter Hartlaub
San Francisco Chronicle
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A low-budget comedy chiller that makes up in dog-eared charm what it lacks in fright.

Full Review Source: San Jose Mercury News | comment Comment
10/09/03
Glenn Lovell
Glenn Lovell
San Jose Mercury News
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Coscarelli, writer-director of the logy, fatuous Bubba Ho-Tep, is trying to will a cult movie into existence -- which, of course, never works.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
10/08/03
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
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Coscarelli gives this low-rent lunacy an accomplished visual look as well as plenty of B-movie charm.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
10/03/03
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
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Writer-director Don Coscarelli, maker of such potent cult films as Phantasm and The Beastmaster, fails to come up with enough incidents and action to make this overly leisurely picture the zany fun it means to be.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
10/02/03
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
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