My hype level was through the roof in the build-up to the fall 2003 theatrical release of BUBBA HO-TEP, because I am the sort of moviegoer who will believe that a film directed by PHANTASM creator Don Coscarelli, starring THE EVIL DEAD's Bruce Campbell, and based on a Joe R. Lansdale story about an elderly Elvis Presley and an elderly, black JFK battling a mummy in a nursing home has the potential to be one of the greatest things ever made. I mean, this story is genius:
We find Elvis (Bruce Campbell) as an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home who switched identities with an Elvis impersonator years before his "death", then missed his chance to switch back.
Elvis teams up with Jack (Ossie Davis), a fellow nursing home resident who thinks that he is actually President John F. Kennedy, and the two valiant old codgers sally forth to battle an evil Egyptian entity who has chose their long-term care facility as his happy hunting grounds…
It was a 90 minute trip to the nearest theatre showing BUBBA HO-TEP, and the film was worth every minute of that trip. It was as off-the-wall as expected, but also as touching and beautiful as it was crazy. Campbell turned in an incredible performance as Elvis, and Davis was great as his cohort JFK.
If you haven't seen BUBBA HO-TEP yet, I highly recommend that you check it out. Luckily, Scream Factory is putting together a Collector's Edition Blu-ray release of it that sounds like a must-buy. The special features they have assembled include:
NEW Audio Commentary With Author Joe R. Lansdale
NEW All Is Well – An Interview With Writer/Director Don Coscarelli
NEW The King Lives! – An Interview With Star Bruce Campbell
NEW Mummies And Make-up – An Interview With Special Effects Artist Robert Kurtzman
Audio Commentary By Don Coscarelli And Bruce Campbell
Audio Commentary By "The King"
Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary By Don Coscarelli And Bruce Campbell
"The Making Of Bubba Ho-Tep" Featurette
"To Make A Mummy" Make-up And Effects Featurette
"Fit For A King" Elvis Costuming Featurette
"Rock Like An Egyptian" Featurette About The Music Of Bubba Ho-Tep
Joe R. Lansdale Reads From Bubba Ho-Tep
Archival Bruce Campbell Interviews
Music Video
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spot
Still Gallery
The BUBBA Blu-ray will be out on November 8th and can be pre-ordered on Amazon.
It's great to see BUBBA HO-TEP continuing to get positive attention thirteen years after its release, especially since Don Coscarelli believes that fan interest will someday get the long-delayed sequel off the ground.
The end credits of BUBBA HO-TEP feature the promise that "Elvis returns in BUBBA NOSFERATU: CURSE OF THE SHE-VAMPIRES", which could have been taken as just a goof if Coscarelli hadn't made it clear that he fully intended to make a follow-up in which Elvis battles vampires. A script was written, and Paul Giamatti was even cast to play Elvis's manager Colonel Tom Parker, but the project fell apart when Campbell dropped out, reportedly due to issues with the screenplay. Not even the chance that Ron Perlman might take over the Elvis role could resurrect it.
BUBBA NOSFERATU: CURSE OF THE SHE-VAMPIRES has been dormant for years, but Coscarelli still has hope that it's going to happen. When asked about the project during an interview with CraveOnline, he said:
Thank you so much for asking, though. Because that’s what will eventually get the movie made someday. The fanbase. Look, Elvis is eternal and I hope we can do that. We have a great script. Some people say it would make a better TV series, but I don’t know. The next couple years I hope they try to get something going with that, but there are no specifics about it right now."
I would love to see BUBBA NOSFERATU, so I'm really hoping Coscarelli will be able to get it rolling sometime in the next couple years.