Director of the Week: Don Coscarelli: Bubba Ho-Tep

Howdy boys and girls and welcome to Day 5 of Director of the Week with Don Coscarelli.  Now yesterday was a bit of a stomach turner with Incident On and Off a Mountain Road so let’s end the week on a classy note, and nothing screams classy like an Elvis Mummy movie. So hide your candy, keep a flashlight handy for lights out and tell that orderly where he can stick it.   This is Bubba Hotep.

The King in deep contemplation. 

Elvis: Don’t make me use my spoiler on ya, baby.

In a third rate nursing home in East Texas not much goes on in The Shady Rest Retirement Home.  The staff is ill-mannered and adheres to their schedules and even though they may have more than a few faded celebrities, we are all reminded that death still keeps taking its toll.

The staff of the nursing home does have a bit of amusement what with Sebastian Haff (Bruce Campbell of The Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2 and Burn Notice), an Elvis impersonator claims to be the actual Elvis that swapped lives with Sebastian Haff in order to live in peace and anonymity.   But if things get dicey he and Haff agreed that if the King gets tired of the quiet life they can swap back but a propane explosion burned all of his proof preventing Elvis to be able to ever return to the old gigs.

Whaddua mean wood tick on my neck??!!

A hip injury happened during a concert causing an infection and a coma leaving him here at Shady Rest wound him into this predicament.  His only friend is Jack (Ossie Davis of Car 54, Where are You?, The Defenders, Cool Red, B.L. Stryker, Grumpy Old Men, Doctor Dolittle and The L Word), a black man convinced he is John F Kennedy that had his brain swapped out into this body to avoid another assassination attempt and was forgotten about.   The two start to notice people dying in numbers around the home and come to realize that a mummy is roaming the halls at night sucking souls from the residents.  Only these two men can stop the madness and bring this undead soul sucking monster down.

Not so good ole boy.

I have just a few points on this film.  Based on the written work of graphic novelist, and Bram Stoker Award writer, Joe R. Lasdale this warped and amusing story holds elements of memories past, regret, sorrow, triumphs and joy.   Yes all that can be found in an Elvis Vs. the Mummy novel.  Bruce Campbell read the script and called Don Coscarelli to make sure than the infected cancer sore on the end of Elvis’ penis was NOT to be on screen.  Once that air was cleared he was on board for the film.  

Phantasm alumni Reggie Bannister makes a cameo in the film and you can just hear the ecstatic cries of Reggie and Ash fans losing their minds over two cinematic monster slayers on the same screen.   In spite of this being an Elvis Preseley film not a single song of his is heard throughout the whole film.  Don Coscarelli when to explain how it would have cost half of the movie’s budget to license even just one of his songs.

The moral of the story kiddies is, “Don’t f&*k with the King, babies!”  

Just a lonesome cowboy, ma'am.