Bubba Ho-tep
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Bubba Ho-tep is the title of a short story by Joe R. Lansdale which was adapted as a 2002 horror-black comedy film starring Bruce Campbell as Elvis Presley, now a resident in a nursing home.
The film version 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 short story and film is ostensibly about an Ancient Egyptian mummy (played by Bob Ivy) terrorizing a retirement home, 'Bubba Ho-tep' is really about aging and growing old in a culture that values only the young.
The film features a cameo by Reggie Bannister, the cult hero of director Don Coscarelli's Phantasm series.
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Plot
During the 1970s, when the real Elvis Presley grew tired of the demands of his fame, he switched places with an Elvis impersonator named Sebastian Haff (also played by Campbell). It was Haff who eventually died on the toilet in 1977, while the real Elvis lived in quiet, happy anonymity, making a living pretending to be himself. After a propane explosion destroyed documentation that was the only proof that he was actually Elvis Presley, he was rendered unable to return to his old lifestyle even if he wanted to.
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's plot is driven by Elvis' internal monologue, as he reminisces about his life and ponders his condition.
Eventually, Elvis and JFK face off against the Mummy. On this occasion, 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 gives chase to heroes who need motorized wheelchairs 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.
After hatching an elaborate plan Elvis and JFK manage to destroy the mummy, and the trapped souls of their dead comrades are released to their final rest (somewhat contradicting the earlier statement that the souls had been destroyed forever.) In the process Elvis and JFK are themselves killed, although their deaths are heroic and honourable. As he lies dying, Elvis gets confirmation that his soul is prepared to move on, and his final words are, "thank you very much."
Awards
Joe R. Lansdale's original short story was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award, while the screenplay for the film won a Bram Stoker Award in 2003. 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.
Bubba Nosferatu
A film suggested in the credits for Bubba Ho-Tep, Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires, has apparently been announced. In a DVD 'making of' documentary, Coscarelli revealed that this was originally intended as a joke, however, due to positive fan response to the film, a sequel is now a possibility. He then went on to speculate he would like to make a sequel documenting the production of a 'lost' Elvis movie from the 50's or 60's. Although it has not yet entered production, Bruce Campbell and Don Coscarelli have reportedly been attached to the project.