Bubba Ho-Tep [DVD] [2002]

Kudos too to Ossie Davis’ President Kennedy, similarly playing it straight despite the lion’s share of absurd dialog and character quirks: when, in the film’s most iconic moment, the King in his Rhinestone suit, cape and Zimmer frame and President Kennedy in his best suit and wheelchair make their way down the corridor for their final confrontation, they really are genuinely heroic figures that you’re rooting for even if they do have mobility problems. The downside is that the horror side of the movie is less considerably effective, the jokes never as funny as you’d like them to be, the fun never frantic and one scene too many with the would-be comic hearse drivers. But the compensations more than outweigh the cons (not least of them a versatile electric guitar theme from composer Brian Tyler that has the flexibility to be both tender or stirring depending on the orchestration). This is a film with real emotional weight – indeed, the ending is genuinely touching in a lump-in-the-throat, I’ve-just-got-something-in-my-eye kind of way.

Anchor Bay's 2-disc set improves on the US edition with more extras, and compliments the film perfectly. All is well...

Comedy and horror can blend very effectively, as the success of Shaun of the Dead, An American Werewolf in London and, of course, Bruce Campbell's earlier romps - Evil Dead 2 & 3 showed. Those who enjoyed movies like those are certain to love Bubba Ho-Tep, but it would be a gross over-simplification to categorise it simply as another tongue-in-cheek horror. Bubba Ho-Tep taps into many other themes - conspiracy theories, the poignancy of advancing years, lifestyle choices, friendship, redemption etc. to produce a unique and highly entertaining movie.

I have a feeling that this will totally polarise opinion. It all depends on whether you find the notion of a geriatric Elvis with a Zimmer-frame and a black JFK (beautifully played by the late Ossie Davis) in a motorised wheelchair, battling the living dead, just plain daft or a truly inspired off-the-wall piece of cutting-edge weirdness.

I am firmly in the latter category and could happily suspend my disbelief that a world-weary Elvis wanted to duck out of the limelight by trading places with a look-alike (both played by Campbell). Campbell's claimed 45 minutes tuition from an Elvis impersonator - SORRY `tribute artiste' have paid off here, as his accent, mannerisms and one-liners are all scarily plausible and are delivered with brilliant timing.

From the opening scene, where we meet our septuagenarian hero living out his twilight days in the depressing confines of the dreary, tobacco-coloured cells of the rest home, with little else to do than contemplate (in explicitly described detail) his septic genitalia, the viewer is left in no doubt that this is going to be a highly unconventional movie!

A measured early pace describes, in flashback, how Elvis came to be in this position and gives us an opportunity to meet the other characters - JFK of course, and a delightfully delusional Lone Ranger.

Whilst Bubba contains a few outrageous visual gags, which wouldn't have been out of place in Army of Darkness, most of the humour is derived from the inspired dialogue, expertly delivered by Campbell and Davis. I won't ruin your enjoyment with any further spoilers, but watch out for my personal favourite - Campbell's expression when he realises how trite and pathetic the spell of protection is! Sheer comic genius!

For an admittedly low-budget movie, the special effects are pretty good, with the mummy looking suitably cadaverous and all the stunts worked effectively.

Loads of extras on the 2-disk DVD set, including very witty and entertaining commentaries (the commentary by 'The King' being side-splittingly hilarious!), making-of documentary, interviews etc. The original score is also very catchy and is stuck in my head as I type this!

Love it or hate it, you cannot ignore Bubba Ho-Tep!