The film takes place in a retirement home in East Texas. Two of the residents are the "real" Elvis and an elderly black resident, played to perfection by Ossie Davis, who thinks he's JFK. Part of the pleasure I derived from this film was the actions and dialogue between the two which made me believe, hell they could be Elvis and JFK.
As great as Davis is in his role, Bruce Campbell keeps right up with him with his performance as Elvis. It's kind of sad, at least in my world, that performances in horror movies are so often tossed in the trash come major awards time simply because of the fact it's a horror movie performance. Both Campbell and Davis should have been nominated for their acting in this movie. Campbell was better than Nicolas Cage in Adaptation and Davis was better than John C. Reily in Chicago. Hey, it's just an opinion but there's a history out there of actors in horror films getting screwed.
This is a cult classic and if you want to sit back and watch a very cool movie without a ton of gore and violence, where the dialogue, direction, story and acting are all first rate than watch and enjoy BubbaHo- Tep. Here's a quick back and forth between the main characters in the movie.
JFK: Just what are you getting at, Elvis?
Elvis: I think you know what I'm gettin' at Mr. President. We're gonna kill us a mummy.
(There's a ton of tongue in cheek back and forth that works throughout the film)
BubbaHo- Tep gets an obvious "A" from me. Tomorrow I'll be reviewing a newer horror flick that I won't be so kind to.
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