Bubba-Ho-tep

Bubba Ho-tep

~The King takes on The King~

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By Todd Karella
May 25, 2004

The movie comes to a climax in a scene where Elvis in his walker and J.F.K. in his wheelchair take on the mummy. While they may have nothing left in their lives, they find the strength to fight for the only home they have left and for the souls of their friends.
Even though there are horror aspects to the movie, it's hard to pigeonhole it as just another horror movie. It has elements of both comedy and drama as it struggles with the concept of old age and the after effects of fame. They are both lonely places.
Bubba Ho-tep may be good for the style of movie that it is, but compared to most of the Hollywood films, it's still just a B-Movie. The idea is just a little too strange, and the dialogue a little too graphic for most people. There's just something unsettling about an opening with Elvis talking about a puss-oozing sore on his penis and lack of erections. There are a couple of things that the movie fails to address. Why is Elvis' mind connected to the mummy's and why is he wearing boots, hat and a tattered shirt with flames?

Callie-Heidi Marnhout

Bubba Ho-tep-Bob Ivy

JFK-Ossie Davis

Elvis Presley-Bruce Campbell

The King of the B-movie, Bruce Campbell, returns as the King of Rock and Roll as the new movie Bubba Ho-tep was released to DVD this week.
Originally released in a handful of theatres, the movie is becoming a quick cult classic. As with many cult movies you're going to either love it or hate it. Those who do not like Bruce Campbell or care for the genre of movies he is in will

be in the latter group. Fans of Bruce Campbell and those hoping for more to the Elvis legend are going to find an unusual concept with

a healthy dose of good acting, something usually lacking in most of his previous movies. While it's hard to overlook his signature pointy nose and chin, Campbell does an exceptional job impersonating The King in his later years.
The movie starts with Elvis in a nursing home in his late sixties. No longer is he concerned with fame and fortune, but instead he is simply trying to exist day-by-day. His will to live slips as he finds himself humiliated by his old age. Having broken his hip on stage he needs a walker to get around and has all but given up on leaving his bed. He is content on letting himself die as a cancerous growth has

appeared on his penis, taking away the last shred of his dignity.
Just as he has resigned himself to his inevitable end, people

mysteriously begin to die around the home. Slowly Elvis begins to come out of his stupor as strange things begin happening and is prodded into action by Jack (Ossie Davis) who claims to be JFK.
While Elvis doesn't believe his claims about who he is, the presidential air Davis brings to the character leaves

you thinking that maybe the government is keeping the missing part of his brain alive and that they have pigmented his skin to black.
The two begin to unravel the mystery and discover that there is an ancient mummy that is feeding off the souls of the elderly. Since the people in the

home are near death and weak, their souls are little more than a snack for Bubba Ho-tep (Bob Ivy) who must then feed more often.
As they rush to figure out what to do, Elvis slowly becomes more and more himself as he begins to reminisce about his past and how he ended up in his current situation. After Priscilla had left him, he became depressed and tired of the overwhelming fame he had endured. Finding an Elvis impersonator, the two trade places. Unfortunately, the real King does not foresee his replacement having a bad heart and the only documents to prove his identity being lost in a fire, so he must remain the impersonator, Sebastian Haff.