Bubba Ho-Tep has the single most ridiculous premise I've ever heard, but it's so crazy fun that there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. Based on a short story by cult legend Joe R. Lansdale, Bubba Ho-tep tid the story of Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell)- assuming he did not die from a heart attack on the can. We find him in old age, as a resident in an East Texas retirement home, who switched identities with an Elvis impersonator years before his "death", then missed his chance to switch back before the impersonator passed away. Though angry at first at the years of fame he missed out on, Elvis teams up with Jack (Ossie Davis), a fellow nursing home resident who thinks that he is actually President John F. Kennedy, and the two team up to battle an evil Egyptian entity- the eponymous villain Bubba Ho-Tep- who feasts on the souls of their long-term care facility peers.
What makes this film so much fun is that director Coscarelli never takes any of it too seriously, but there is some fleshing out to the caricatures- I mean characters, in the movie. There's a good balance of comedy and drama, and a whole lot of camp. Watching Bubba creep around the home is rather creepy, and the effects are well done (yes, even including the scarabs pulled on very obvious strings), but Bubba himself is a fun character. He’s creepy enough to remind the audience of classic movie monsters, but when supplied with cowboy boots and hat, he’s twisted enough to remain memorable. Bubba Ho-Tep is an original horror movie worthy of your attention, the likes of which is hard to come by these days. You'll know within the first ten minutes that you're witnessing a cult classic.
What makes this film so much fun is that director Coscarelli never takes any of it too seriously, but there is some fleshing out to the caricatures- I mean characters, in the movie. There's a good balance of comedy and drama, and a whole lot of camp. Watching Bubba creep around the home is rather creepy, and the effects are well done (yes, even including the scarabs pulled on very obvious strings), but Bubba himself is a fun character. He’s creepy enough to remind the audience of classic movie monsters, but when supplied with cowboy boots and hat, he’s twisted enough to remain memorable. Bubba Ho-Tep is an original horror movie worthy of your attention, the likes of which is hard to come by these days. You'll know within the first ten minutes that you're witnessing a cult classic.