Bubba Ho-Tep [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray]

Director: Don Coscarelli Don Coscarelli

Overview

An ancient evil finds resistance in the most unlikely of places in this oddball comedy horror effort from Phantasm director Don Coscarelli. Resting in the confines of a Mud Creek, TX, nursing home after fading into obscurity following his departure from the limelight, an aging and embittered Elvis (Bruce Campbell) befriends a delusional patient named Jack (Ossie Davis) who claims to be John F. Kennedy. It seems that at the height of his popularity Elvis had switched identities with a convincing double, and, upon the death of the substitute, missed his chance to reclaim his former fame. Despite his anger at never having made a comeback, Elvis finds a new reason to live when Jack tips him off to an evil mummy that is feasting on the souls of hapless nursing home inhabitants. Before long the geriatric duo must muster the strength to fend off the malevolent soul sucker lest they ultimately fall prey to the fearsome Bubba Ho-Tep (Bob Ivy).

Product Details

Release Date:	02/07/2023
UPC:	0826663233865
Original Release:	2002
Rating:	R
Source:	Shout Factory
Language:	English
Format:	Blu-ray
Sales rank:	9,544

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bruce Campbell	Elvis
Ossie Davis	Jack Kennedy
Bob Ivy	Mummy
Reggie Bannister	Rest Home Administrator
Ella Joyce	Nurse
Heidi Marnhout	Callie
Larry Pennell	Kemosabe
Gigi Fast Elk Porter	Trailer Trash
Daniel Roebuck	Hearse Driver
Daniel Schweiger	Hearse Driver
Harrison Young	Bull Thomas
Brian Tyler	Composer

Technical Credits

Don Coscarelli

Don Coscarelli	Director,Executive Producer,Producer,Screenwriter
David Hartman	Special Effects
Gary Kent	Stunts
Jason R. Savage	Producer
Jerry Whitworth	Casting
Paul Baca	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

It's a familiar question, usually asked at supermarket checkout counters: Suppose Elvis Presley is still alive? The producers of the horror-comedy Bubba Ho-Tep take it several steps further. Suppose he's in a dilapidated rest home in the middle of Texas? Suppose the residents start dying off at a mysteriously accelerated pace? And suppose Elvis endeavors to get to the bottom of things, with the help of a fellow codger who claims to be John Fitzgerald Kennedy? A cult concept like this one calls for a King beyond compare, and Bruce Campbell's just the ham for the job; portraying Elvis as a virtual invalid who gets a new lease on life when he and JFK (Ossie Davis) begin their paranormal investigation. Fun from start to finish, Bubba maintains its charm by never looking down upon its heroes, or even the other residents of the rest home. A great deal of the film's success relies on Campbell's performance. No stranger to cult movies -- he is, after all, Ash of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series -- Campbell knows comedy; but he also deftly balances the shtick of playing Elvis with a genuine sympathy for the aged, tapping into a believable bitterness that works almost in spite of the story's goofy concept. Davis also plays it straight, making no attempt to mimic JFK, and while his role is played mostly as one long-running sight gag, he make a curiously natural sidekick for Elvis. The material could easily slip painfully into the realm of the overstretched film school joke, yet Don Coscarelli, director of such '80s genre touchstones as Phantasm and The Beastmaster, avoids the collegiate pitfalls. Ultimately, Bubba Ho-Tep is a showboat for the vastly underappreciated (in the mainstream, anyway) Campbell, and will no doubt rank high on any genre fan's list of movies that are just plain fun.

Barnes & Noble - Tony Nigro

From two of the great minds behind the Phantasm and Evil Dead series comes Bubba Ho-Tep, a refreshingly strange tale that'll put a smile on your face no matter your cult-film appreciation. Filled with incredible performances, highly quotable one-liners, and an undeniable humor that cuts through its offbeat mummy plot line, this is one of those magical films that genre fans and movie lovers alike should walk out of the theater hooting and hollering for. Headed by the almost unrecognizable B-film great Bruce Campbell, the film's elderly Elvis Presley is the new screen hero to beat all others, and he nails it perfectly. In no way offering just a sheer impersonation or on any level reducing the King to simply a cardboard cutout, Campbell crafts a character that not only looks and moves like the real thing, but is imbued with enough swaggering attitude and heart that you cannot help but buy into this wild incarnation of the rock & roll icon. (The 2003 HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival obviously agreed, granting Campbell Best Actor honors.) Key to the film as well is veteran Ossie Davis, going out on a limb in a role that shows off his impeccable comic timing and ends up being the most rewarding portrayal of the latter part of his career. Director Don Coscarelli, as well, not only does a bang-up job of adapting Joe R. Lansdale's quirky tale, but also with bringing back his stylistic eye to the screen in a way that's just as refreshing as the sincere performances he's wrangling in. An inevitable classic that will only grow in popularity through the years, Bubba Ho-Tep is a knockout of a good time and an independent kick in the pants to the formulaic Hollywood drivel that's pumped out year after year. Hail to the King, indeed!

All Movie Guide - Jeremy Wheeler