Critical Outcast

DVD Review: Bubba Ho-Tep
Film. What a great movie. I have read some message bards about this title and the general feeling about this movie is a love it/hate it response. I thought it was great, it was funny, bizarre, and touching all at the same time.

The basic plot is that a recently resurrected mummy is terrorizing an old folks home in eastern Texas. Our unlikely heroes are Elvis (the REAL Elvis) and an older black man who claims to be JFK, played by Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. Sound strange? It is. But, a lot of thought went into the story and it does make sense.

We get some wonderful backstory on Elvis and how he came to be at the rest home and why no one believes that he is really Elvis. We also get a lot of touching moments with Elvis wondering what could have been, would his ex-wife and daughter visit him? Great moments perfectly acted by Campbell. Davis is also great as JFK, he brings such serious earnestness to the role, that you really believe that he is who he claims to be. All the while, the mummy threat is increasing as our intrepid heroes piece together a plan to stop him.

The movie was directed by Don Coscarelli, probably best known for Phantasm and The Beastmaster. He does a great job bringing these bizarre elements together and taming them into a workable film. I am sure that a newer director may not have been able to keep this film from straying too far into the cheese category. The film plays like a cult hit in the making.

It's not a horror movie exactly, there is no gore to speak of, no real frights, there is some tension and an overall dark atmosphere. It's not a comedy even though there is a lot of comic dialogue throughout. It's not a drama, although there are numerous dramatic scenes. What it is is a combination of these genres with a healthy dose of the surreal and bizarre sprinkled over it to give us a truly unique film. It really does defy description and I do not think I can really do it justice here. Best I can say is, see the movie!

Video. The image is excellent. Sharp and detailed throughout even in the dark scenes, of which there are many. The effort was definitely put forward to give this film what it deserved.`

Audio. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and it sounds great. A few other places have mentioned the presence of some crackling in the dialogue, I didn't detect this, but I also don't have a high end speaker set up. Anyway, it does sound excellent, everything did seem crisp and always intelligible, even on my little TV speakers!

Extras. We get a good selection of extras here, not bad considering it is not a high profile release. We get two commentaries, one with Coscarelli and Campbell, and one with Campbell in character as Elvis. I listened to the first track and it is very entertaining, they are very conversational and relay anecdotes that are screen specific as well as those related to the production in general, definitely worth a listen. The Elvis commentary on the other hand, is sort of entertaining, but also kind of dull, it is fun as a novelty. We also get a handful of deleted scenes, a making of documentary, trailers, and a music video. Overall a nice selection of extras.

Bottom Line. Excellent movie, excellent DVD, I have to give this a high recommendation. You can't go wrong, especially if you have slightly odd tastes, like myself. I just really wish this movie had gotten a wider release, it could have become a big sleeper hit. On the other hand though, it was cool hearing that cult geek hero Campbell had a film that was invited to festivals and played the arthouse circuit!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Also at Blogcritics.org.