Bubba Ho-Tep [2002] [DVD]

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2009-05-20 rating:
a bit bland
I got this due to its status as a cult favourite. how it managed to achieve said status remains a mystery. Although the concept is imaginative, the execution is poor with large chunks of the plot turning out to be redundant time filler by the end of the movie. I expected a funny, catchy, absurdist, character-driven movie, but the slow pace, poor effects, total lack of action and ultimate dead-end plot left me bored and dissapointed. br / br /I'd give it 2 and a half stars if that were possible.

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review by: Likes Weird Stories Knocking Down Skyscrapers date: 2009-05-16 rating:
Words Fail Me
Trying to explain this film is probably an impossible exercise. Based on a short story by the immensely talented Joe Lansdale the only way I can think of putting this is... br /THIS FILM SHOULD NOT POSSIBLY WORK. br /But it DOES. br /And for an idea that sounds so ridiculous it has an incredible amount of heart. You truly feel for Elvis and JFK and are with them 100% as they battle the ancient Egyptian horror... and I never thought I'd write a sentence like that.

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review by: Werthead date: 2009-04-05 rating:
A cult classic
An east Texas nursing home is the final resting place for many elderly and infirm patients, including one Sebastian Haff, an Elvis impersonator who suffered a broken hip during a concert and is now partially disabled. The staff are amused by Haff's claims to be the real Elvis, but, thanks to the power of flashbacks and the internal monologue, we see that his claims are correct. Tiring of fame and superstardom, Elvis found an impersonator who was almost his spitting double and swapped places with him in the early 1970s. It was Haff who went on to die of a drugs overdose in 1977, whilst the real Elvis went on to have a quieter, less-stressful life as an Elvis impersonator. br / br /The film works on two levels. The first is a meditation on growing old and the melancholy that comes with that, not to mention the frustration that the young often disrespect their elders and their accomplishments simply because they need to go to the toilet a bit more often than they used to. This is emphasised in a sequence where the young daughter of Elvis' room-mate thoughtlessly throws his possessions out in the trash, including his war medals earned saving the lives of his friends. This area of the film works superbly, with Bruce Campbell an absolute revelation in a role which requires far more subtlety and emotional intensity than his normal, broader horror-comedy roles. There's also a great dynamic between Campbell's Elvis and his friend Jack (a likewise strong performance from Osse Davis), who claims to be John F. Kennedy. Instead of dying in Dallas, he claims to have survived, been dyed black by Lyndon B. Johnson and left to rot in the nursing home (unlike Elvis, it isn't revealed if this is the 'real' JFK or not). Elvis' scepticism is tempered by his acknowledgment of his own unlikely story of survival. br / br /The second level is much more straightforward: Bubba Ho-Tep, an ancient Egyptian mummy, has been reanimated and has invaded the nursing home to feed on the souls of the living, draining them out through it's victims' backsides. Seriously. It is up to Elvis and JFK to eliminate the mummy before it wipes everyone in the rest home out. br / br /The difference between the quiet, contemplative meditation on old age and dignity, and the slash-horror of the mummy's killing spree is fairly pronounced, but it works brilliantly, sold by good writing, terrific performances, limited but effective sfx and a superb musical score. The daft premise is treated with utmost seriousness by everyone involved and it works very well. br / br /Bubba Ho-Tep (*****) is a bit of an oddball movie, at turns reflective, quiet, hilarious, action-packed, horrific and thoughtful. With solid direction (from veteren horror director Don Coscarelli, direct of the Phantasm series) and great acting, it is more than worth an hour and a half of your time.

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review by: Miker date: 2009-04-02 rating:
Uh huh!
This proves, if you didnt already know, that Bruce Campbell actually can act...a fact already proven in Evil Dead 2 etc. br / br /Odd film, but worth watching just for Bruce!


review by: date: 2009-02-28 rating:
All is well
Bubba Ho-Tep might look like a daft b-movie with plasticky SFX and an offbeat script about an elderly Elvis in a nursing home, but it's one of those films that sticks in the mind for years, lodges itself in some part of the brain reserved for works of total unalloyed genius. br / br /Bubba Ho-Tep partly reminds me of Ovid's Metamorphoses in that the chaos of the universe (open system) will not be subdued yet the human (closed system) is transformed by entropic force, although in this case also subject to attack by a reanimated mummy in cowboy gear who attacks the elderly. br / br /An American classic.

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Similar categories

Video . DVD Blu-ray . Categories . Comedy . All Comedy
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Categories . Horror . Comedy Horror
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . DVD
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . BBFC Rating (intended_use_browse-bin) . 15
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Standard Edition
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Region(feature_browse-bin) . Region 2
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 2000 and later
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Language (theme_browse-bin) . English

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