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I love the idea that Bubba Ho-Tep has just refused to do what films are supposed to do in terms of genres, and that the direction is subtle and the acting so skilful. Whilst it is more than clear to me that the Mummy (and assorted cockroaches) were in no sense supposed to be scary I still ... Read review
Don Coscarelli directs and Bruce Campbell stars as the King of Camp in this intentionally ... more
over-the-top schlockfest.Bubba Ho-Tepis partially about Elvis Presley and partially about the title character, an Egyptian cowboy zombie, but mostly it is about c...
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Don Coscarelli directs and Bruce Campbell stars as the King of Camp in this intentionally ... more
over-the-top schlockfest.Bubba Ho-Tepis partially about Elvis Presley and partially about the title character, an Egyptian cowboy zombie, but mostly it is about c...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Production Year: 1980 - Horror - Director: Paul Lynch - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Leslie Nielsen, Casey Stevens, Anne-Marie Martin, Antoinette Bower
Production Year: 1998 - Horror - Director: Steve Miner - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Michelle Williams, Adam Arkin, Adam Hann-Byrd, Janet Leigh, L.L. Cool J.
Advantages: Elvis, JFK AND a mummy...all in the same nursing home... Disadvantages: That mummy...
...I love the idea that Bubba Ho-Tep has just refused to do what films are supposed to do in terms of genres, and that the direction is subtle and the acting so skilful. Whilst it is more than clear to me that the Mummy (and assorted cockroaches) were in no sense supposed to be scary I still couldn’t quite cope with the Blue Peter “look what we made earlier” approach to horror which made me cringe as much as I didn’t want to. It loses a star from me ... more
The thing is: it all got a bit much for Elvis.
So he decided to stop being Elvis and let one of his very best impersonators take over, so that he could operate on the somewhat calmer and less hectic basis of a relatively “normal” person. They had an agreement that he could swop identities back at any time, but when the contract went up with the barbeque (and the caravan) well that was that. Elvis didn’t mind.
That’s how the King finally ended up as an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home, plus one bad hip, one Zimmer-frame and one rather worrying growth on his “pecker.” Luckily he kept the rhinestone glasses though.
Imagine his surprise when he realises that he’s in there with an aged John F Kennedy. What are the chances of that eh? A black one at that. “They” had dyed him, obviously.
What more could you possibly need to know about this film before you find yourselves running en masse to your nearest Arts Cinema? Surely that has got to be the funniest and most bizarre concept for the making of a movie ever.
That’s how I found myself in front of it the other evening anyway. The fact that it was based on a Bram Stoker Award nominated short story by the much acclaimed “cult” author Joe R Lansdale meant nothing to me. Tell me that Don Coscarelli of “Phantasm” fame had adapted it for screen and directed it, well my eyes may well have glazed over a little. Had I heard a rumour that there were going to be some sort of undead Eygptian mummy intent on sucking out the souls of these American codgers, and well, I would doubtless have run a mile.
Lucky for me that nobody told me all that guff then.
If we must insist on pigeon-holing films then you would have to call this a comedy horror film. If you are daft enough to do this then it is fair to say that the “comedy” bit works and the “horror” bit doesn’t in the least. You won’t gasp or hide your eyes, you won’t even laugh out loud, but you will laugh: in a smiling, charmed kind of way.
I’d call this a character-led film. Bruce Campbell plays the 68 year old Elvis with such subtlety that it only takes a few minutes before you are more than prepared to suspend your disbelief and go with this madly original set of premises. That’s got to be hellishly high praise of his abilities really hasn’t it? You see as daft as this plot sounds it is devilishly clever and there are some pervasive themes that are truly subtle and make Campbell work incredibly hard to pull them off as well as he does.
Growing old in a country that deifies youth can’t come easily and that lack of care, that lack of remembering that your opinion still counts for something gently washes about this film, sometimes more sadly, and sometimes more jokingly. Leaving children behind, feeling that you may have failed them, realising that your relationships with them are not all they could or should have been touches both the central actors’ roles. How to live with illness and die with dignity and how to make your death significant in some way is a subject that far more serious films would pull away from, but is deftly put before the audience in this “comedy horror.”
Yet don’t let me kid you into thinking that this is a serious film, good grief no. Where those issues are gently raised they also compete with soul-sucking evil things that look more like over-ripe cockroaches than anything else, and the “undead” rather unimaginatively stomping about in that “my knee and elbow joints no longer work” outstretched mummy look that we know of old.
Did I say the horror aspects didn’t work earlier? Well there, they certainly don’t and I imagine that to any lover of the genre this film would come as a serious disappointment if they were not forewarned.
No this is a film about Elvis and JFK and what makes it work are the remarkably off beat comedy and the amazing performances from both Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis (who plays JFK). They somehow make us want them to be who they say they are, they make us want them to succeed and they make us believe in their friendship.
Ossie Davis has a face that can provoke laughter just by the tiniest of moves and although I couldn’t exactly say that he looks the part (!) he is able to swing from comedy to gravitas with great control.
Comedy bit-parts are worked to perfection by the two hearse drivers (Daniel Roebuck and Daniel Schweiger) as they swing by the nursing home with frightening regularity and the contradictory role of the caring and yet at the same time deeply patronising nurse played by Ella Joyce is hammed up deliciously. Amazingly there are only a handful of other actors in this film that really does centre on the two leads.
I love the idea that Bubba Ho-Tep has just refused to do what films are supposed to do in terms of genres, and that the direction is subtle and the acting so skilful. Whilst it is more than clear to me that the Mummy (and assorted cockroaches) were in no sense supposed to be scary I still couldn’t quite cope with the Blue Peter “look what we made earlier” approach to horror which made me cringe as much as I didn’t want to. It loses a star from me for that alone.
That said, if you only see one undead Mummy VS aged Elvis film this year I strongly recommend that it should be this one!
92 minutes run time Certificate 15 in the UK Released 2002
Advantages: Unique concept, great acting. Disadvantages: One joke can't sustain a film.
In Bubba Ho-Tep, an elderly Elvis Presley and a black John F Kennedy battle an ancient mummy. As concepts go, you can't get any more unique than that. The concept here though is so strong that the film can't possibly live up to it.
Once we gets past that initial idea, the film in itself falls rather flat. It's a film that is almost entirely dependent on the above making up the entire content of the film, but it simply can't hold up. While seeing ... ...didn't deserve it.
Overall, Bubba Ho-Tep is fun in places. The concept is great, as are a few scattered moments throughout the film. I suspect that horror fans will get more of a kick out of it than I did, but to me, while the idea is great, the film is ultimately flawed. It's a shame, as the film deserves top marks for originality, it's just that the execution could have been so much better. ...
eddie7sf 11.10.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Bubba Ho-Tep (DVD)
Advantages: Quirky concept, a stand-out performance from Campbell, cracking and entertaining dialogue. Disadvantages: Not much horror, concept may be a little to extreme for some!
BUBBA HO-TEP
Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell), the erstwhile King of rock and roll, is an unlucky sod. Some would say that being alive and well instead of propping up daisies is a rather fortunate thing. However, after suffering from an infection to an old hip injury and spending the last twenty years in an east Texas nursing home in near solitude, with only a growth on his pecker and a black guy who thinks he's President John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis) ... ...former President on his side Bubba Ho-Tep had better watch his arse…
Ordinarily, a plot featuring an aged Elvis and a black JFK taking on an Egyptian mummy with walking sticks and wheel chairs would be laughed out of the cinema. For one thing, it presumes a tacky and childish feature laden with fart jokes, cheesy effects, and inane dialogue more at home with the Scary Movie fraternity than an otherwise high quality horror flick. And whilst jokes ...
clownfoot 13.02.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Bubba Ho-Tep (DVD)
Advantages: Brilliant acting. Genius Concept. Both funny and touching. Disadvantages: May not be what some people are expecting.
...see, the horror elements of BUBBA HO-TEP are neither particularly substantial or work that well, and at its heart is a layered drama that is actually pretty bittersweet, it also treats old people with respect despite always verging on territory where it could easy be mocking them and in the end is both insane and interesting in equal measures. Campbell plays Elvis like he would be now, he doesn't mimic his rock star persona, he develops the character ... ...in this place man!". Meanwhile Bubba Ho-Tep himself seems no stranger to one liners, "Eat the dog dick of Anubis, you asswipe" he yells at Elvis during their climatic fight sequence.
There are so many other reasons why I loved BUBBA HO-TEP. The beautifully haunting score that adds so much depth to the more "serious" scenes, the cameo from a certain Coscarelli regular, the script that rides the line between both making fun of and being a tribute ...
moxon123 03.02.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Bubba Ho-Tep (DVD)
Advantages: Great performances, story and humour Disadvantages: Lacks the edge of past Campbell greats, 'Evil Dead' etc
There was a time in life where Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll seemed invincible; that is until he was one day found dead, gorged to death on drugs and cheeseburgers. But the most interesting fact here of all that Elvis didn't die. The man who was found dead on a toilet was none other than a Mr. Sebastian Haff, a very convincing Elvis look-a-like and impersonator whilst the real Elvis took Haff's place as a tribute act to? well himself and ... ...R. Lansdale's short story basis for the film 'Bubba Ho-Tep' is true. Which of course it isn't. It is the present, and an aging Elvis (Bruce Campbell) spends his last few years on earth in a rather drab retirement home under the name Sebastian Haff, but when he does reveal his famous past to his nurse (Ella Joyce), she merely thinks that it's a crazy story by an old man with declining mental health. All is not rosy in Elvis proverbial garden. His ...
Markula 27.08.2008 (13.02.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Bubba Ho-Tep (DVD)
Advantages: Great story and acting Disadvantages: Perhaps too farfetched for some to grasp
...---- Callie
Bob Ivy ---- Bubba Ho-tep
Bubba Ho-Tep cannot be defined in a single genre, because it is so diverse. Directed by Don Coscarelli, mainly a horror director, Bubba Ho-Tep became a cult classic. It did not make the mainstream cinemas in the UK but is now available to buy on special edition DVD. The plot of this film is varied and certainly very peculiar. At heart a horror comedy, with some memorable funny scenes such as that of Haff trying ... ...home flutter past. Bubba Ho-Tep is an excellent film that has an original story, great acting and an excellent horror music score. The special edition DVD is packed with features to enhance the film including deleted scenes and commentary, however I have not got this as of yet, but will consider it in the future.
It was a shame that this film did not achieve its potential at cinemas and did not come to the UK, but fortunately, it is available on ...
jonty68 24.05.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Bubba Ho-Tep (DVD)
Stereo, DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Dubbing Sound
DTS English Dolby Digital 5.1 English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo English
Special Features
Audio Commentary By Don Coscarelli And Bruce Campbell, Audio Commentary By The King, Bruce Campbell Intro, Joe R Reads From Bubba Ho Tep, Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary By Don Coscarelli And Bruce Campbell, The Making Of, To Make A Mummy Make Up And Effects Featurette, Fit For A King Elvis Costuming Featurette, Rock Like An Egyptian Featurette, Music Video, The King And I An Indepth Excavation With Don Coscarelli, UK Premiere Q And A, Bruce Talks Bubba An Interview, Photo Galley, Theatrical Trailer, TV Spot, Biographies
Professional reviews
Review
Brilliant (Nuts, )
Absolute Genius (SFX, )
DVD Description
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, John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis), when they both begin to suspect that their neighbours 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.
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