Bubba Ho-tep is a 2002 film starring Bruce Campbell as a nursing home resident who claims that he is Elvis Presley. The movie also stars Ossie Davis as Jack, a black man who believes he is John F. Kennedy. He says he was patched up after the assassination in Dallas, dyed black, and abandoned by Lyndon Johnson. The film was directed by Don Coscarelli.

While the film is ostensibly about an Egyptian mummy (played by Bob Ivy) terrorizing a retirement home, 'Bubba Ho-tep' is about aging and growing old in a culture that values only the young.

To be followed by Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires, starring Sebastian Haff.

The film features a cameo by Reggie Banister, the cult hero of director Don Coscarelli's Phantasm series.

Plot

During the 1970s, the real Elvis grew tired of the demands of his fame. He switched places with an Elvis impersonator, Sebastian Haff (also played by Campbell). It was this impersonator who eventually died on the toilet, while the real Elvis lived in quiet, happy seclusion, making a living pretending to be himself.

A hip injury during a performance lands him in an East Texas nursing home, and as the movie opens, he's contemplating his age, frailty, loss of dignity and impotence.

Elvis's only friend is a black man who insists he's JFK, claiming to have been dyed black after the assassination attempt, and abandoned in a nursing home. The truth behind his identity remains unclear, but Elvis does spot a mysterious scar on the back of JFK's head. It could be from the head wound seen in the Zapruder film, but then it might not be.

Most of the film takes place though Elvis' internal monologue, as he reminisces about his life and ponders his condition.

Eventually, Elvis and JFK face off against the Mummy. For once, a slow, plodding mummy is a real and credible threat, as instead of going against young adults who should be able to outrun it, it's going against heroes who need a motorized wheelchair to get around the grounds.

The mummy is feeding on the souls of the nursing home residents. Instead of an afterlife, instead of Heaven or Hell, they cease to exist. This is the fate that the aging residents face, not just death, but the end of their very existence.

Awards

Bubba Ho-tep is based on a short story by Joe R. Lansdale [1] that was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. The screenplay for the film won a 2003 Bram Stoker Award. It has received several other awards, including being named "Official selection" at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Hong Kong International Film Festival. It also won "Best screenplay" and "Best actor" at the U.S. Comedy Arts Film Festival .

External links

• Official website
• Movie Trailer