Critter's Cave

With the recent release of the Bubba Ho-Tep DVD, I thought I’d republish the review I wrote on October 23rd when it was shown at the Indie Memphis Film Festival.
Bubba Ho-Tep ***** out of 5
An ancient Egyptian soul-sucker is on the loose at the Mud Creek Shady Rest home in east Texas, and only Elvis Presley and JFK can save the day. Unfortunately, Elvis broke his hip twenty years ago and has to use a walker, and JFK had part of his brain replaced with sand and his skin dyed black by the CIA. This sounds like a B-Movie plot (which it is) and you would expect Hollywood to ignore a movie like this completely (which it has), especially when Elvis is played by Bruce Campbell, star of the Evil Dead series of films. However, this is no B-Movie. Beyond the basic premise, this script has unexpected depth and compassion for its characters and continually suprises the viewers throughout the course of the film’s 92 minute running time.

This movie is less about the title character (the Egyptian soul-sucker mentioned above), and more about the introspection on a life led, choices made and not made, and the regrets and acceptances of the consequences of those choices. It is about a man who has led a charade of one kind or another all his life finally dropping all the charades and just being who he is. A man who, worn down by the human soul-suckers around him, finally breaks free by defeating an inhuman one.
The interior shots of the rest home have an old, worn-down look that you would see in any home built during the depression, and only given enough care to keep it from collapsing. This world-weary look is reflected in the attitude of its residents, most of whom have long given up on the world since the world has given up on them. They have “small souls” – there is nothing left for them other than Shady Rest. The oppression is palpable.
In the midst of this an ancient Egyptian, buried without a name, comes back to life. In order to maintain that life, he must suck living humans’ souls. Elvis and JFK work together to defeat this menace to their fellow residents, as those souls consumed by the soul-sucker are forever lost – no afterlife, whatever form it might take.
This is Bruce Campbell’s finest role to date. He literally disappears into the role – you won’t find any of the typical “Brucisms” you see in his other acting jobs. Ossie Davis delivers a fine performance as well, although it’s never made clear whether he really is JFK or not (but there are subtle clues he is – check out the carpet and furnishings in his room, for instance).
Although this is marketed as a horror-comedy or a comedy-horror, it really is neither. There are some startling (not scary) parts and some very funny parts, but this movie is really about a man nearing the end of a long journey, looking back at the road he has travelled, looking at the road ahead, and deciding that he would rather make a left than keep going straight.
Truly, one of the best movies of the year, and one of the best I have seen in several years.