Weird Weekday Movies: 'Bubba Ho-Tep,' the Bruce Campbell Mummy Movie You Need to See This Year!

Welcome back to weird weekday movies, the home of movies that are so bizarre they have to be good surely? This week's entry definitely is one of the better ones in my humble opinion. Fan favorite #BruceCampbell suits up as the one, the only Elvis Presley and has to fight for his retirement against an ancient mummy that has come for his soul in Bubba Ho-Tep. If that doesn't leave you with an adrenaline rush then by God you shouldn't even have clicked this article. If you're a true cult movie fan however, keep scrolling..

Come Get Some!

What happens when you get director Don Coscarelli, of the increasingly bizarre Phantasm movies fame, and dark twisted horror writer Joe.R.Lansdale together? Answer: one of the world's craziest cult buddy horror movies that I've ever seen. Here's the official blurb that, sort-of, explains what the movie entails:

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 chosen their long-term care facility as his happy hunting grounds.

I'm sure that plot just raises even more questions but this is the sheer genius of cult cinema where you can put so many elements together in one movie and If you get the right combination it just works.The fact that it's also Bruce-Freaking-Campbell in the title role helps a lot too. See my video review for some clips and my enthusiastic presenting to say the least..

Bruce Is a GROOVY Elvis

The movie is certainly wacky enough on its own to become a cult favourite, but it wouldn't have become such a FAN-favourite without the essential B-movie acting abilities of one Bruce-Evil Dead-Campbell. I say that with the finest compliments, Campbell is a great actor, often working within source material way below his abilities however, in this, he shines. In my humble opinion it's one (if not the) finest performance he's achieved since Army of Darkness and I mean that in the best possible way.

Along for the ride is Campbell's right hand man, the late Ossie Davis who takes on the puzzling role as fellow retirement home bunk buddy and-er-JFK apparently. The role sounds ridiculous on paper but works within the confines of this strange set flick. I mean when you have Elvis Vs. The Mummy in a movie can anything else really surprise you? Well maybe. Davis's gentle portrayal of the late Kennedy more than gives their bromance an odd-couple style that is hilarious to watch and makes you care for the characters in ways you wouldn't expect. It's not all about flying scarab Beatles and penis jokes y'know.

In Closing

I'd say if you can only see ONE Mummy movie this year than you have to make it Bubba-Ho-Tep without a doubt. Considering Universal have just thrown over 100 million to produce their new lack-luster reboot that's simply a show in technology rather than true story telling. Bubba boasts a much more emotional ride as well as a host of wacky and action packed sequences and all within the astoundingly low 1 million dollar budget mark. Fans have been crying out for a sequel ever since this made its way across Film festivals. Will we ever see Campbell return as Elvis? Time will tell...baby.