In most cases, it would be difficult to describe a movie like
“Bubba Ho-tep” without relying on the cliché and
mundane descriptions that give critics a bad name.
It’s not enough to call the aging Elvis versus a mummy
indie-comedy-horror “new,” “inspired” or
“genre-bending.” The film is certainly all those
things, but these terms have been overused to the point where
slightly clever can become “new,” unintentionally
funny, “inspired” and a simple, dark comedy can be
hailed as “genre-bending.” These overblown associations
do “Bubba Ho-tep” a disservice.
Luckily, one of the many voiceovers of a geriatric Elvis (Bruce
Campbell) sums it up much better: “Everything you do is
either worthless or sadly amusing.” And as creative and
amusing as “Bubba Ho-tep” is in its story (and it is),
it’s just as ordinary and worthless in much of its
storytelling technique.
The film opens by defining the title in white words across a
black screen in either homage to or as a parody of “Pulp
Fiction,” although it’s hard to tell which. The
newsreel-style footage used to introduce the Egyptian antagonist
could probably be substituted into any mummy movie without much
trouble.
But in the world of indie-horror, the focus isn’t on the
details, and when looked at in terms of entertainment value,
“Bubba Ho-tep” flourishes. Elvis never aged in a rural
Texas nursing home, but Campbell’s performance makes you
almost wish he did. It’s all very amusing, but still sad. The
image of Campbell stumbling down a steep hill with a walker is not
one that normally comes to mind with thoughts of Elvis.
Ultimately, there’s a lot to like in “Bubba
Ho-tep,” but the humor that comes from turning the King into
a forgotten emperor only makes us glad the story is fiction.
-Jake Tracer