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.
Theatrical Release: September 26, 2003
DVD Features:
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Clips/Highlights - Joe R. Landsdale Reads from "Bubba Ho-Tep"
Behind the Scenes:
1. "The Making of BUBBA HO-TEP"
2. "To Make a Mummy"
3. "Fit for a King"
4. "Rock Like an Egyptian"
Alternate Scenes:
1. Deleted Scenes (2; w/Commentary)
2. Footage From the Temple Room Floor
Audio Commentary:
1. Don Coscarelli - Director; Bruce Campbell - Star
2. "The King" - Character
Trailers:
1. TV Spots
2. Theatrical Trailer
Text/Photo Galleries:
Stills/Photos
Director of Photography
Adam Janiero: Cinematographer, BUBBA HO-TEP
Source Writer
Joe R. Lansdale: Source Writer, BUBBA HO-TEP (2003)
Music
Brian Tyler: Composer
Review 1:
"...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 at the poignancy of these two old men and their situation..."
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
p.37 10/17/2003
Review 2:
"Don Coscarelli's horror comedy is more tender than tacky..."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.109 05/28/2004
Review 3:
"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."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.103 06/10/2004
Review 4:
"[With] a slow, bittersweet, almost elegiac current....Campbell, whose meditative, muttering, weary-boned narration cushions the film, is a revelation."
Source: Uncut
p.150 11/01/2004
Review 5:
"Typical of the writer, but also the mind behind PHANTASM, is the juxtaposition of wildly disparate elements that somehow gel..."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.44 11/01/2004
Review 6:
"[A]n instant cult classic worthy of a ROCKY HORROR-style following."
Source: Premiere
p.119 07/01/2004