Bubba Ho Tep

B and Cult Movies Rating: 3 stars
Year of Release: 2002
Movie Certification: 15
Running Time:  88 mins
Genre: Horror / Comedy
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis
Director: Don Coscarelli

Well bless my soul, what’s wrong with me… I have wanted to watch this film since its release back in 2002. It’s taken me nearly ten years – how’s that for procrastinating? The film just sounded bonkers, which I hope to share with you all.

Let’s start with our protagonist. He’s an Elvis impersonator who’s stuck in a care home after falling from stage and breaking his hip. He also believes that he is, in fact, Elvis. Alternatively, it could be that he actually IS Elvis, and that he swapped lives with an impersonator in order to escape the stresses of success. Neither version of the story is confirmed or denied. Either way, he is now largely bed-ridden, or walks with the help of a frame. He also has an ongoing problem with a growth on his ‘pecker’.

Through the course of the film, he becomes friends with another client at the care home, who is equally firm in the belief that he is President Kennedy, and that part of his brain has been removed. Whilst this is used for a few easy jokes, the characters are treated with sympathy and understanding. This is just as well, as the whole film would have been destroyed – for me, at least – if serious mental disorders were used for cheap laughs.

Now, to explain the plot. An ancient Egyptian Mummy had been touring America before an accident in a storm sent the sarcophagus down a stream, releasing the Mummy from a curse and allowing it to walk the Earth once again. In order to survive, this Mummy needs to eat the souls of the living – the patients in the care home. This is achieved by sucking their souls out through their arses.

After the first few deaths, Elvis and President Kennedy follow the clues – hieroglyphic graffiti, books on the occult – and decide to take on this Mummy. In doing so, Elvis regains his self-respect and dignity. This is made clear by his growing mobility.

BUBBA HO-TEP was clearly made without a great budget, but I think that this makes the film all the more endearing. An early scene revolves around an attack by a large scarab beetle. It is very clearly a model, and its legs move in a fairly clumsy way, it actually elicited ‘ahhhs’ like a kitten from the girls that I was watching the film with. Ho-Tep – The Mummy – himself is done well. He wears a cowboy hat and boots. This is never explained, but simply suits the style of the film. Not everything makes sense, and that is okay.

The first scene in which we meet the Mummy properly has some very dramatic lighting – which really stood out for me as not fitting with the rest of the film, but I believe this was intentional. There are also some dream sequences, or possibly memories. These are pretty filtered. Overall, the scenes are largely allowed to work for themselves, without the need for fancy shots and heavy-handed direction.

Cult favourite Bruce Campbell is on top form as Elvis – he manages to swagger like a rock’n’roll star with a broken hip. He plays comedy with a sincerity that really holds the film together. Elvis goes from world-weary to grouchy and ultimately, back on top form, and we’re happy to go along with him on this journey.

I enjoyed the film. There are some scenes, and some shots that I truly loved. Elvis in a white sequin suit and walking frame, beside Kennedy in an electric wheelchair heading out to take on the Mummy, for example, was a glorious moment in cinema. However, after taking so long to actually sit down and watch it, BUBBA HO-TEP was never going to entirely live up to my hopes. It’s very difficult to compare the film directly to any other – it borrows from many, from the classic Universal horrors and some Hammer, and undoubtedly many other cult favourites that I have yet to discover. There is perhaps a comparison with SHAUN OF THE DEAD, in the film’s ability to revel in the absurdity of certain situations. If you like weirdness and your sense of humour is of the ilk that will enjoy seeing an ageing Elvis battle a large scarab with a bed-pan, then you will certainly find much to like in BUBBA HO-TEP.

Further info:

Whilst pulling together the various pieces of information from the ‘net for this review, I stumbled across the fact that a sequel – or prequel – is in development, BUBBA NOSFERATU. More info can be found at http://www.bubbanosferatu.com.

Review by,
Tom Roberts
Twitter – @Tom_Wookiee