Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Bubba Ho-Tep'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Of the many reasons that I love cinema as a whole, one that stands out in my mind often is the sheer fact that film can in essence do whatever it wants in order to tell an entertaining story, and over the years that has paid off in spades for audiences everywhere. We’ve quite literally seen the impossible on the silver screen and recently, I thought it was high time to revisit a motion picture that threw caution to the wind and pulled out all of the stops in order to provide us with an amazing story in Bubba Ho-Tep.
 
Now in this film we are transported to a remote nursing home in the middle of nowhere Texas, and while this place is unremarkable, outside of the wonderful senior citizens that live here with stories to tell, one particular resident here is a touch more special than anyone else. Because in this place, one will find the King himself, Elvis Presley, and while some believe he is actually a man known as Sebastian Haff who is posing as the King, Elvis knows the truth and he also knows, that something sinister is happening in his rest home. Because residents are dying unexpectedly, and Elvis wants to know why, allowing for him to combine his inquisitive efforts with another resident named Jack, (who claims to be President John F. Kennedy) and together, they will uncover the truth about a mummy that has come to this rest home, to feed on fresh souls…
 
So, if that sounds like one wild plot line, that’s because it is, and what’s amazing about this particular tale is that all of those elements work well together through and through. Because there’s a rhyme and a reason for everything that happens in this motion picture and well, that kind of care when it comes to the screenplay allows for this outlandish story to suck in you in since you absolutely have to know what happens next and as an added bonus, the horror elements are equally as fascinating since the scares and creepy moments in this film are impactful as well and the film does such a fine job of establishing how evil the mummy is in this tale that you root for Jack and Elvis to defeat him the whole way through. 

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​However, while all of that is magical and wonderful, we really need to take the time to highlight the performances in this motion picture because the acting in this film is next level. Case in point, the fact that Ossie Davis, a genuine screen legend, is in this film and he brings a manic charm to his interpretation of a John F. Kennedy that was surgically altered to become an African American in order to bury the truth about his assassination attempt, and what I love the most about his performance in this film, is the sheer fact that Ossie exudes a presidential air about him as often as possible, selling the possibility that he may in fact be Jack after all.
 
But while Ossie is amazing in his role, he is grossly overshadowed by Bruce Campbell’s performance as Sebastian Haff/Elvis Presley. Because in all honesty, if it weren’t for the title cards, you’d never know that it was Bruce in the role. He simply transforms himself into the King and his performance of Presley is surprisingly subdued and down to earth as Elvis struggles with the fact that father time is catching up with him, and the regret he expresses over how he lived his life is downright fascinating. Plus, as an added acting bonus, the scene where Sebastian meets Elvis is nothing short of genius since Bruce plays both roles thanks to a little trick camera work and why this scene sticks out in my mind, is the sheer fact that it features two vastly different performances and it just speaks to how talented Bruce truly is as an actor.
 
Granted, I rarely spend much time talking about the acting when it comes to reviews because normally, the story and the performances need to go hand in hand together. But with this film being a low budget indie, the acting is key to carrying to the story here and the incredible work that Bruce and Ossie put forth make every single moment they’re on screen an utter delight to watch. In the end, this is just a fun horror flick. One that makes you laugh, scream and damn near cry (look, there was something in my eye at the end of the movie, okay?) and really, if you haven’t seen this one yet, add it to your collection and watch it as often as possible. Because movies as wonderful as this, deserve to be celebrated over and over again. 

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