Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) is less a horror movie than a rumination on what it means to become old in our society, where all of our dreams and accomplishments mean nothing in the end and we are dumped by family into facilities where we are cared for even less by those paid to look after us until our clock runs out. In this case, the ruminating is being done by a man who may, or may not, be Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell). Aided by a man who may, or may not be, former president, John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis) they discover that an ancient Egyptian mummy in cowboy duds is preying on the nursing home residents, feeding on their almost used up souls to keep himself going. The mystery gives Elvis a new interest in life, and the two men set out to destroy the mummy in order to preserve their own souls and save those of their fellow residents.
There is a mummy, and huge killer scarab beetles, and a couple of murders, but no scares to speak of. The horror elements, as is often the case, are used to comment of the fragility and tenacity of life itself. The action sequences are also low on adrenalin as our two aged protagonists march into battle using a motorized wheelchair and a walker. There's a lot of affection and humor in this extremely low budget character study based on a short story by Joe R. Lansdale, written and directed by Don Coscarelli (Phantasm). I think I enjoyed it even more on this return viewing than I did when I first saw it.
1 comment:
I love this film. What I love almost as much is explaining the plot to someone completely unfamiliar with it - and watching their reaction. The audio track with Campbell doing Elvis is fun too.
Hope they eventually work out the sequel - Bubba Nosferatu.
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