BUBBA HO-TEP; Full-Tilt Review

"Ask not what your rest home can do for you. Ask what you can do for your rest home."

Elvis 

Elvis is the main character, only as a hero, and not a pervert who manipulated little girls.

 

Synopsis:


Based on a short story by cult writer Joe R Lansdale and bought to the screen by cult director Don CosCarelli (he of Phantasm fame), what we have here is very 'cult'... In a nutshell, two residents of an East Texas retirement home, one of whom believes he's Elvis while the other (a black man) thinks he's JFK, must put aside their differences to combat a soul-sucking Egyptian mummy who preys upon the elderly and in-firmed. Honest, that's the plot.

Script: 2/2 - funny yet poignant

Pace: 1/2 - laid-back but never dull

Acting: 1/2 - hit and miss

Aesthetic: 1/2 - makes good use of a shoe-string budget

Intention: 2/2 - a heartfelt, off-beat, buddy-movie horror comedy

Final Word: 7/10

Now, the setup may sound like a comedy that derives cheap laughs from the fact its central characters probably have Dementia, yet the subject is dealt with a surprising amount of affection, and rather than ever poke fun at such a cruel disease, this merely serves as a way of bringing together two lovably bizarre characters. The result is the baffllingly affectionate team-up ever put to film, and what follows is the most relaxingly paced supernatural investigation this side of Scooby-Do. 
Bruce Campbell excels as the old-timer convinced he's Elvis (believing he swapped identities with an impersonator to escape the limelight), and while his acting may skew occasionally into impersonation rather than acting, he is never less than completely entertaining. He gets a fine sidekick from Ossie Davis as a lovably kooky 'JFK' (dyed black after a failed assassination, obviously). Sadly the side is let down by some less than convincing supporting thesps, but thankfully this never takes the shine off the movie. 
It's a surreal experience, that's to be sure, but a film that's definitely worth a look- love it or hate it, you won't have seen anything quite like it before.