Bubba Ho-Tep is Teh Win. Not quite a comedy, not quite a horror flick, but still a darn good movie and deliciously off-center in a way that only Don Coscarelli can successfully pull off. Ossie Davis as a mental patient who thinks he's JFK? Only Coscarelli could come up with that, and Davis is obviously having a ton of fun with the character. It shows.
But the crowning achievement of the movie is Bruce Campbell who, quite simply, is Elvis. Even without Coscarelli's off-kilter sensabilities, Campbell's protrayal of a broken down, failing, might-as-well-give-up-and-die Presley is spot on.
Even more impressive is that the movie was made on a shoe-string budget. Watch the behind-the-scenes for more, but Coscarelli did some mighty creative things using darn near nothing in terms of resources and ended up with a great result. That includes Brian Tyler's truly inspired musical score. Using little more than an old school tremelo-heavy guitar and a lot of imagination, Tyler came up with a score that perfectly evokes the feel of the movie. I have the album.
For those of you who've never seen the movie, watch it. And I mean really WATCH it. This is not your typical popcorn flick. You need to pay attention. You'll enjoy it tons more. But don't watch it as a comedy or horror film. Watch it from the standpoint of a retrospective. What would happen if Elvis really had lived and was a bedridden old man with nothing left to live for? Sure, it's got mummies and is done with a comedic flair, but that's just icing on the cake for Campbell and Davis' stellar performances and Coscarelli's slightly twisted cinematic flair.
Brad
