What a bizarre movie! I chose this one because it stars Bruce Campbell, best known for his role as hero Ash in the Evil Dead trilogy.
In Bubba Hotep Campbell plays an aged Elvis Presley (aka The King of Rock and Roll), living in an old people’s home regretting the bad decisions of his earlier life – such as exchanging places with an Elvis impersonator, who died (that infamous heart attack in the lavatory) before they could switch back.
All around him the old folks are being killed off by an ancient Egyptian mummy, who is inexplicably dressed in a cowboy suit. It is up to Elvis and his buddy President John F. Kennedy to battle the evil creature and save the souls of their fellow residents.
Campbell does a humorous Elvis, without any element of ridicule. There are so many theories about Presley’s death that this one doesn’t actually seem too far off-base and you can really sympathise with the Elvis in this story.
“It would have been too easy to play the potbellied Presley for easy yuks, but Campbell, under layers of makeup, gets those laughs with some subtlety, while finding actual dignity and pathos in the forgotten King.” – CANOE Jam! review by Mike Bell
This movie is probably not for everyone, I think it takes a somewhat warped mind to appreciate the genius of Bruce Campbell.
The prequel Bubba Nosferatu is currently in production.