Hail to The King, baby

Don Coscarelli, the director who brought us The Beastmaster (1982) and Phantasm (1979) is not a name that would immediately leap to mind should someone mention ‘cult classic’. Phantasm, while original and oddly engaging in its time, was hardly a cult classic. Popular, yes – and certainly better than a lot of the dross around at the end of the 70s – but I wonder how many fans of the original Phantasm have watched what is probably, nay, certainly Coscarelli’s best feature to date?

Bubba Ho Tep (2002) is a difficult film to categorize, in that it’s a comedy, a thriller, a sci-fi flick and a horror movie all in one. It doesn’t seem to have reached a very wide audience, but those who have seen it seem to either love it or hate it. Although I can see why it may not appeal to some, I would have to put myself in the former category. This, for me, is what cinema is all about. In case you need another reason – other than my glowing recommendation – to see it, it has Bruce Campbell in it. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride, Campbell deserves the title once given to James Brown – ‘The Hardest Working Man in Show Business’. Cartoon voice-overs, comedy, drama and, of course, The Evil Dead (1981) – Campbell has done the lot. There should be an Academy Award for vim, and he should get it. The fact he won ‘Best Actor’ for Bubba Ho Tep at the 2003 US Comedy Arts Festival is scant reward, in my opinion.

The story is a fairly convuluted affair. Retiree Sebastian Haff is incarcerated in a residential rest home. He’s tired and weak following an operation on a broken hip and has rather a nasty growth on his penis, which adds to his frustration. Haff has all the physical and sartorial attributes of The King, Elvis Presley, and is presumed by the staff of the home to be a second-rate Elvis impersonator. The real story (as he tells it) is somewhat different, in that he actually is Elvis, and that he only spent years impersonating himself following an agreement with an Elvis impersonator he paid to impersonate him and a contract that got lost in a barbecue explosion. Confused? You will be. When weird things start to happen, The King teams up with Jack (the wonderful Ossie Davis in what was to be his final big screen part) to battle giant insects and a rather unpleasant Egyptian deity who has chosen the rest home as a base for stealing the souls of the living. Jack is also not quite what he seems, but that’s another story, and a good one at that.

The mood is kept dark by some very moody camera and lighting, under the supervision of one Adam Janerio, whom I have to say I had never heard of before seeing this. He seems to have done nothing of great merit since, which is a pity because he really nailed the atmosphere of Bubba Ho Tep. The story is by the award-winning comic and short story writer Joe R Lansdale, who had a big part in writing the screenplay too. Topped off with Bryan Tyler’s low-key but highly effective score, this film really is a must-see.

It works so well because – like all good stories – it is a multi-faceted affair; the obvious front story is a horror/sci-fi scenario, but there is a nice subtle cautionary tale in there. What happens when you’re used to being at the top of your game and have to suffer the indignity of having a young nurse wash you because you are unable? What will happen to you when you are old and apparently either useless or a figure of fun? Bubba Ho Tep is not only about two men fighting to save humanity from a soul-sucking demi-god, but also fighting for their dignity and their place in a society that places no value on the old.

92 mins.

For another charming review on Bubba Ho Tep, check out the review on deadenddrive-in, a little movie blog that has a glow of movie passion all over it. Be sure to check it out.