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 Presley and his zimmer frame trundle around a nursing home chasing a mummy is funny at first, it's not enough to sustain the already brief 80 minute runtime.
In the 1970s, tired of fame, Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) traded places with an impersonator, with the option to change back at anytime. After the contract is destroyed in a barbeque accident, and the man pretending to be Presley dies, our hero is stuck as Sebastian Haff. He doesn't mind though, he wasn't cut out for fame anyway. Now though, reaching the end of his life in a nursing home, worried about strange growths in alarming places, he begins to regret that he didn't make more of his life.
That alone would be enough to make a decent film, but we have to go further. As other in-mates (there is no better way to describe them) of the home start dying one by one, Presley, and a black man claiming to be JFK (Ossie Davies) investigate, discovering a mummy is behind it, and vow to fight him, if for no other reason than to capture their past glories.
"No offense Jack, but President Kennedy was a white man." "They dyed me this color! That's how clever they are!"
Another film would go further with this, but the way Presley just accepts this without further question shows the wonderful sense of abandon that runs through the film. Absurdities are littered all the way through, but on the whole we don't really care. The idea of the ride we're on is just too fun for us to be that bothered.
Sadly though, the film can't remain this interesting, and once we enter the second half, boredom begins to set it. Once we realise that the whole film is based around a single joke, there isn't much that can hold us, and the film descends into standard horror movie cliches. While watching these two geriatrics chasing a mummy is fun in the first ten minutes, by the last ten minutes we're wishing that someone would turn up the morphine.
This isn't helped by the other attempts at humor throughout the film. The segments involving the regular funeral directors that visit the home aren't half as funny as the filmmakers seem to believe. The film also falls flat as soon as Elvis and JFK are off the screen too. The other characters featured simply aren't as interesting, as they just aren't developed enough for us to care.
The fact we do care for Elvis and JFK is a testament to the acting skill of both Campbell and Davis. Fans of the b-movie and horror genres will know what to expect from Campbell: a solid, well-rounded performances with just a hint of irony thrown in. Davis though is the revelation of the film, stepping up to his first starring role after a mere 52 years of acting. One can't argue that he 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.
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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: 1981 - Horror - Director: Rick Rosenthal - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Lance Guest, Charles Cyphers, Jeffrey Kramer, Dana Carvey
I'm not sure what to make of this review - it doesn't sound like the same film I've just read another review about... informative, but not intriguing... but on balance VH rather than H... but it was close... jes ≈≈≈≈{; -)-{{:::{||||||<
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: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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...
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!
clownfoot 13.02.2007 (13.02.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Bubba Ho-Tep (DVD)
![Bubba Ho-Tep [2002] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78484872.jpg "Bubba Ho-Tep [2002] [DVD]")
![Bubba Ho-Tep [DVD] [2002]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78499666.jpg "Bubba Ho-Tep [DVD] [2002]")
Oct 11th, 2004
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