Back from my 9 month trip, returning from sunnier climes to the glories of East Anglia. Happy. Happy...
Back from my 9 month trip, returning from sunnier climes to the glories of East Anglia. Happy. Happy. Joy. Joy. At some point a may bring myself to start up the old reviews again. We shall see.
Member since:09.03.2002
Reviews:25
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It is rare to see Bruce Campbell, iconic star of the Evil Dead trilogy, in a lead role. With the exception of a few uncredited cameo appearances, it is rare to seem him on the big screen at all. Which is a pity, because he is a genuinely funny guy, capable of slapstick that would make Charlie Chaplin proud.
Bubba Ho-tep provides him with the perfect vehicle for his talents, not least because he can pull off a passable impression of the King, Elvis Presley. The premise of the movie is enough to make you (or me, at least) want to watch; Elvis, as many a conspiracy nut has insisted for years, never really died.
Disillusioned with life as his career flags and the love of his life has left the picture, Elvis decides enough is enough and swaps places with an impersonator from Texas. A few years later, the guy who takes his place dies on the toilet, Elvis' paperwork burns in a fire, and he is left with little choice to live out his life as Sebastian Haff, Texas trailer trash, and work the impersonator circuit, pretending to be a guy pretending to be him.
Cut to today, where the elderly Elvis, now a cantankerous retirement home resident, teams up with a black man who believes himself to be John F Kennedy ('they dyed me!') in order to take on a rampaging mummy, feeding off the souls of the other pensioners.
Very much a B-Move and proud of it, Bubba Ho-Tep in no way relies on special effects and production values. The mummy looks good enough, sporting a classy pair of cowboy boots, but beyond that the effects budget only just stretches to flickery lights. This is no bad thing. The film serves as a timely reminder that 2000 special effect shots does not a good movie make.
Instead, the action relies on both the absurdity and comic value of the situation and the location chosen (rarely has an old persons home formed the focus for a feature film). Cambell and Ossie Davis, who plays Kennedy, revel in the surreal nature of their roles, and in the opportunity to play crazy old men. This is especially true of Campbell, as he dodders around on his zimmer-frame, complaining about his long lost sex drive, he almost totally convinces as a disillusioned and decaying pop superstar.
As the mummy slowly picks of the old people one by one, the young staff and visitors show complete indifference. The side-lining of elderly people and their inability to find the motivation to continue is addressed, albeit in a rather absurd way. Elvis, ready to die and unsure why he continues to draw breath, needed something of worth in his life, something to strive for. As you would expect, this turns out to taking on an undead soul sucking mummy.
Conclusion
A unique and unusual film, worth watching for the performances and comic value of an elderly Elvis, complete with sparkly white suit, walking in slow-mo toward the camera, resting unsteadily on his zimmer-frame.
Pictures of Bubba Ho-Tep (DVD)
The mummy approaches
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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.
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...