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Movies / On DVD / Bubba Ho-Tep
Bubba Ho-Tep

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Bubba Ho-Tep (2003)

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Reviews Counted:100

Fresh:78

Rotten:22

Average Rating:6.8/10

Consensus: The best movie to star both the King and JFK.

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: Don Coscarelli's BUBBA HO-TEP finds Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) alive but not so well, living in a small Texas nursing home. Although he's preoccupied with his ailments and his memories, the... Don Coscarelli's BUBBA HO-TEP finds Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) alive but not so well, living in a small Texas nursing home. Although he's preoccupied with his ailments and his memories, the elderly Elvis befriends another resident who thinks he's John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis) when they both begin to suspect that their neighbors aren't dying of natural causes. Their investigation leads to the discovery of an evil mummy with a fondness for cowboy gear and an appetite for the souls of senior citizens. Armed with little more than a walker and a wheelchair, the King and JFK must take on this ancient evil. Based on a short story by Joe R. Lansdale, BUBBA HO-TEP mixes comedy, drama, and horror to create a remarkably quirky film. As the aged and ailing Elvis, Campbell gives an outstandingly funny and poignant performance, while Davis exudes intelligence and warmth as JFK. Although horror is a key element of the story, much of the movie focuses on the life of Elvis and his new friendship with the former president, leading to many oddly comical scenes and even a few genuinely touching moments. Of course, their embalmed foe and his creepy minions must be confronted, making this the first movie about Elvis and JFK to appeal to horror enthusiasts, or, conversely, the first horror movie to appeal to Elvis and JFK enthusiasts. Either way, it's a highly unconventional tale that no adventurous filmgoer should miss. [More]

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce, Larry Pennell

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce, Larry Pennell, Bob Ivy, Daniel Roebuck, Reggie Bannister

Director: Don Coscarelli

Director: Don Coscarelli
Screenwriter: Don Coscarelli
Producer: Don Coscarelli
Studio: Vitagraph Films

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Bubba Ho-Tep

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
tomato
3/5

Not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but there's enough here to entertain even those for whom 'cult' is a four-letter word.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 01 2006 03:33 AM

Empire Magazine

tomato

Nigel Floyd

There’s plenty of scatological humour and knockabout fun to get one through the slower passages.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 09 2006 03:16 AM

Time Out

tomato
4/5

Matthew Turner

A sharply written, surprisingly moving little film with a terrific performance by Bruce Campbell.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 19 2004 10:35 PM

ViewLondon

tomato
4/5

Jamie Russell

A fiendishly funny comedy horror.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 06 2004 07:24 PM

BBC

tomato
4/5

Rich Cline

About halfway through this offbeat horror comedy you realise you're watching a cult classic.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 19 2004 05:24 AM

Shadows on the Wall

N/R

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 29 2009 03:15 AM

Cinema Crazed

tomato
3/4

Joe Lozito

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 27 2007 03:15 AM

Big Picture Big Sound

splat

Todd McCarthy

A mismatched marriage of offbeat character study and unimaginative horror riffs.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 24 2007 12:05 AM

Variety

splat

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Writer-director Don Coscarelli piles on unpleasant details and cynical asides as if they were the stuff of wisdom, though they seem intended to produce guffaws rather than thoughts

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Sep., 24 2007 12:04 AM

Chicago Reader

tomato
3/4

Peter Travers

This absurdly clever caper is elevated by Bruce Campbell's pensive Elvis into a moving meditation on the diminutions of age and the vagaries of fame.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 14 2007 03:15 AM

Rolling Stone

tomato
5/5

Rob Gonsalves

Don Coscarelli still doesn't know how to make cookie-cutter genre films. Let's hope he never learns how.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 11 2007 06:33 PM

eFilmCritic.com

tomato
5/5

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 06 2005 07:41 PM

Film Threat

tomato

Urban Cinefile Critics

It’s outrageous and full of novel ideas that will tickle the fancy of anyone who is stimulated by the absurd.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 18 2005 01:49 AM

Urban Cinefile

tomato
2.5

Jordan Hiller

There may be some deeper meaning to all this madness about living beyond your prime and regret, but it just barely escapes me how it all fits in

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 27 2004 06:31 PM

Bangitout.com

splat

Anton Bitel

the true horror here, far from being some middle-eastern revenant in a cowboy hat, is the indignity of disease, the anonymity of old age, and the inevitability of death

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 30 2004 10:25 PM

Movie Gazette

splat
2/5

Jay Antani

Bubba Ho-Tep tries ineffectually to be both a lyrical character study and a darkly satirical horror flick.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 30 2004 07:36 PM

Los Angeles Alternative

tomato
4/4

Stefan Birgir Stefansson

Simply too cool.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 08 2004 12:57 PM

sbs.is

tomato
7/10

Jeffrey Chen

Actually pretty quiet and could be considered seriously pensive if it wasn't for its inherent goofiness.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 02 2004 10:59 AM

Window to the Movies

tomato
3/4

Linda Cook

Hey, Bruce Campbell - thank you. Thank you very much.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 19 2004 11:05 PM

Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

tomato
3.5/5

Michael Senft

Fry up a peanut butter and 'nana sandwich, hop in your Cadillac and take one last ride with the King.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 08 2004 04:14 PM

Arizona Republic

 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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all

Latest News for Bubba Ho-Tep

August 23, 2007: Bubba Nosferatu Gets Giamatti, Waiting for Campbell
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May 05, 2007: Campbell Open to Evil Dead 4 and Bubba Nosferatu
Even though he's in charge of the massive "Spider-Man" franchise and in the running for films like "The Hobbit," Sam Raimi always says he wants to make... More...

October 27, 2006: RT Top 20 Halloween Movie Countdown, Part Two
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July 15, 2005: Reports From Comic-Con: Ghost Rider's Ride and Upcoming Bruce Campbell's Projects
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