Bubba Ho-Tep

Title - Bubba Ho-Tep
Language - English
Genre - Horror, comedy

*This contains spoilers*

Elvis Presley (played by Bruce Campbell) is not dead, he traded his life with the best Elvis impersonator of the time, Sebastian Haff.  Unfortunately due to Sebastian dieing and Elvis losing the contract proving who is in a barbecue accident Elvis was forced to lead the life of an Elvis impersonator.  That is until he slipped off stage  breaking his hip and putting himself into a coma for 20 years.

Now Elvis is residing in the ‘Mud Creek Shady Rest Convalescent home’ and a something is stalking the hallways killing off the elderly residents.  Elvis has to team up with a black man claiming to be JFK (they dyed him so no one would find him) and a man in a lone ranger mask to find out what is killing the residents and stop it.

The idea that Elvis switched places with one of his impersonators is one of the more sensible urban legends surrounding the  real man and the fact that the film added in the chain of events that made it impossible for him to prove that he really was Elvis was a nice touch.  The Idea that JFK wasn’t dead and had been turned into a black man is just silly.

Bubba Ho-tep is an interesting film it is a dark comedy with characters who you may expect just to be exaggerations of the real people and when you throw an Egyptian mummy into the mix the film should be a farce but it’s not.  Bubba Ho-Tep mixes a dark humor with characters that you can't help but liking and in some sense feeling sorry for.  The home is a drab building and the environment is bleak with most of the residents having to share a room and we see that Elvis’ room mate is the only real company he has.  at the start of the film we see that life just passes by, the staff move in and out with the only contact being when they need to administer medicine or get the patients to do something.  We also see that death is an expected event in the home, no one pays much attention when Elvis’ room mate dies, even Elvis doesn't seem surprised. Elvis and JFK have a conversation about how the mummy has picked a safe feeding ground, the souls of the elderly may not be as nutritious as those of younger people but it will have limitless supply of food as no one will notice the deaths of the elderly and, when one dies another person will put in their place.

At the start of the film (old) Elvis is part of the bleakness, no one will believe who he clams to be, for the most part they call him Sebastian (the name of the impersonator he swapped lives with) and when they do call him Elvis it is just to humour him and is normally treated as a joke. When we meet him Elvis has become used to the monotony of the home and spends most of the in his bed regretting missing time with his daughter.  He regrets the time he spent on drugs, alcohol and women when he was Elvis but also regrets the time lost after he swapped lives with Sebastian, looking at both lives with regret.

The feel of the film changes with the introduction of JFK one of the only two residents that Elvis feels is a friend.  The character of JFK (Played by Ossie Davis) is the mirror of Elvis.  Where the story of Elvis could be believable and, if true is all brought on by himself JFK’s story is pure madness.  We have a Black man who claims to be John F Kennedy who has had part of his brain removed (where the bullet hit) and has had a battery put in which keeps him alive but which could be turned off by anyone in the white house at any time.  His explanation for the change in skin color is that he has been dyed so that no one will believe who he is and he has been put in the home to hide him.  Unlike Elvis JFK has family that visit him, he refers to a daughter but he claims that it is an actress who is posing as his relative to aid in hiding him.  Where as all of Elvis’ problems have been brought on by himself, making him sad and full of regret JFK, if he is to be believed has been forced into his situation but he is relatively happy where he is.

as the film progresses the character of Elvis changes.  In stopping the mummy he finds a reason to live, he becomes more active, demonstrated by using the toilet instead of the bedpan and, with some help from JFK he starts to find some joy, not only in what he is doing now but in what he did in his past.  He still keeps the regret of not seeing his daughter more but uses that to help in the fight against the mummy.

One of the interesting parts of Bubba Ho-tep is that you never really know if the main characters are who they claim to be or if they are delusional.  Elvis’ story is believable but he conveniently has no way of proving it, he has one picture that he clams is of his daughter but it is blurry and distant.  We also never see any other proof even though we see numerous flashbacks of concerts and parts of his life as (young) Elvis we have to remember that he would be putting on shows if he were really Sebastian and some parts may just be the delusion. One of the flashbacks we see is of Elvis visiting Sebastian and, in the context of the scene we assume that this is where Elvis and Sebastian switch places but even here we never know who actually leaves the room as Elvis.

In contrast JFK has no flash backs and no real evidence that he was ever anything other than a normal man but he does have the scar where he (JFK) would have been shot and his room is a stark contrast to any of the others we see.  He has no room mate and the room is is nicely decorated, he has dioramas of the JFK assassination and a supply of books.  it is obvious that the staff play up to him being JFK more than they do with Elvis.  All of this may just be that JFK’s family have more money.

The final end of the spectrum is kemosabe, this is Elvis’ other friend.  We never hear him speak and every time we see him he is dressed as the lone ranger.  when he is attacked by the mummy he is almost happy in his delusion as his last action is shooting it down with his fake guns.

There is also a consideration that the mummy is also a delusion representing death.  The only people who see it end up dead and, in fighting it Elvis and JFK they are also fighting for their souls.  They both want to to die on their own terms and not shut away in the old home.

With a story that could seem so focused on old age and death Bubba Ho-Tep could have turned into a depressing film but it’s not, the main characters are enjoyable and their friendship is believable.  The interaction between all characters helps provide a good humor which   counters the darkness that is present throughout the film.

as I mentioned earlier it is never certain if either of the main characters are who they say they are but, in away it doesn't matter.  The fact that they are claiming to be Elvis Presley and JFK adds to the fun of the film but they could just have easily been any two old people who were friends and worried about death.