Review by Dan Taylor
If
you had told me that the year's best comedy
would come from the director of PHANTASM
and the star of Sam Raimi's EVIL DEAD flicks,
I might've questioned your sanity. Sure,
I love Don Coscarelli's first couple PHANTASM
flicks, but my enjoyment of them is mainly
derived from the trippy dream state, Angus
Scrimm's creepy Tall Man, and the ever-reliable
Reggie
Bannister as the world's most unlikely
action star.
As for Bruce Campbell, well,
he's the ultimate B-movie star. His EVIL
DEAD series Ash may be horror cinema's most
beloved punching bag/hero and his square-jawed,
aw shucks charm is as comfy in blockbusters
(SPIDER-MAN) as it is on the small screen
(THE ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY, JR., JACK
OF ALL TRADES, XENA).
Based on a short story by
horror author Joe R. Lansdale, BUBBA HOTEP
takes us to Mud Creek, Texas where an aging
Elvis Presley (Campbell) seems doomed to
live out his final years in a nursing home.
Cranky, paunchy and sore, the once and future
King of Rock 'n' Roll is no longer perceived
as a sexual animal and the staff openly
scoffs at his claims.
No better – or worse
– off is a fellow resident (superbly
played by Ossie Davis), who believes that
he's President John F. Kennedy, survivor
of an assassin's bullet and victim of a
government conspiracy that included dying
his skin black and replacing part of his
brain with a bag of sand.
When each night at the nursing
home brings another odd occurrence (giant,
flying scarabs, strange sounds in the halls,
hieroglyphic graffiti in a men's room stall),
the duo team up to battle a centuries-old
mummy that is using the nursing home as
his own soul-filled hunting grounds.
Two things make BUBBA HOTEP
work. The material – Elvis and JFK
team up to fight a mummy in a nursing home
– is never played for laughs. Coscarelli
sets up the story, peppers the home with
colorful characters (including a resident
who believes he's The Lone Ranger), and
you either go along for the ride or you
don't. Those who are willing to suspend
their disbelief and enjoy the flick are
rewarded with something funny and sweet
and, well, wonderful.
More important than the material,
though, are the lead performances by Campbell
and Davis. Campbell, whose larger-than-life
personality can define his performance,
becomes Elvis Presley. A man tortured by
the path his life has taken, he seeks solace
in a life away from the limelight's glare,
only to spend his final years wondering
where it all went wrong.
On the surface, Davis appears
to be the most unlikely screen JFK of all-time.
By the time the film ends, the subtle touches
and poignancy of the performance far outweigh
the mental stretch suggested by his skin
color.
In the end, the genre
elements of BUBBA HOTEP are secondary, perhaps
unnecessary. Fans expecting a horror flick
will be disappointed. But those adventurous
filmgoers who embrace the crazy concept
and off-the-wall characters will be rewarded
with one of the most entertaining flicks
in recent memory.
