Jami Bernard
Gary Dretzka
Leonard Klady
David Poland
Doug Pratt
Ray Pride
Stu VanAirsdale
..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..David
Poland
..Ray
Pride
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Elvis hasn't left the building. He's not dead, he's not apologetic; he is simply out of commission in a Texas nursing home.
The urban legend is alive and well in Buppa Ho-tep, a bizarre yarn from the pen of Joe R. Lansing and brought to screen life by the idiosyncratic film personality of Don Coscarelli (Phantasm). It is full blown yarn, confident in it's movie truth and willing to strut its stuff to bizarre extremes.
Lying in his bed in some Texas township, Elvis (Bruce Campbell) explains how - bored with the spotlight - he switched places with one of his better impersonators. Freed of the burden of celebrity he toured as an Elvis wannabee and was able to get back to playing the kind of music that inspired him. But fate took a cruel turn. His replacement indulged too hardily in fame and succumbed and a freak stage accident resulted in a tumble that ruined his famous hips and he didn't have the money for a first class operation to set things right.
So, he got sent to a poor folks home where he fit in seemlessly with a lot of old eccentrics. His best friend Jack (Ossie Davis) might just be an assassinated president injected with a dark skin pigment. At least, that's what he claims in this cuckoo's nest complete with a martinet of a head nurse (Ella Joyce).
But even hobbled, Elvis knows there's something weird going on when the fellows and gals at the home start dying off on a routine basis. He enlists Jack for his knowledge of conspiracies and they start to investigate the odd goings on. What they uncover is an ancient Egyptian curse involving a disgraced pharaoh. He's been brought back to life but can only survive by taking the last breaths of victims.
It doesn't take much to realize the basic plot of Bubba Ho-tep is off somewhere in outer space. In lesser hands this house of cards would collapse into cheesy camp but Coscarelli plays the tone in perfect pitch. He makes sure that his cast is real and understated. And with Campbell and Davis doing the heavy lifting their sobriety is a delight and their surprise is our surprise simultaneously.
Coscarelli is also relatively shrewd in keeping his special effects modest and maintaining a slick look for the picture. It doesn't completely overcome its low budget trappings or the thinness of the plot. Still, the deft performances and its outlandish nature go a long way to smooth out the rough edges and provide an enjoyable and diverting romp.
A Vitagraph Film release of a Silver Sphere production. Produced by Don Coscarelli, Jason Savage. Director, Coscarelli. Screenplay, Coscarelli, based on the short story by Joe R. Lansdale. Camera, Adam Janiero. Editors, Donald Milne, Scott Gill. Music, Brian Tyler. Production design, Daniel Vecchione.
Bruce Campbell (Elvis), Ossie Davis (Jack), Ella Joyce (The Nurse), Heidi Marnhout (Callie), Bob Ivy (Bubba Ho-tep).
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Bubba |
Rated: R
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Starring: Bruce Campbell,
Ossie Davis, Bob Ivy,
Reggie Bannister, Heidi Marnhout
Produced by: Don Coscarelli,
Jason R. Savage
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Distributor:
Vitagraph
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Review Date: October 3, 2003
