Summary
-
Bubba Ho-Tep
offers a unique take on Elvis Presley’s life, with a twist that sets it apart from other biopics. - Bruce Campbell pays tribute to the anniversary of Presley’s death by reflecting on the surreal nature of portraying the late singer at the same age as when he died.
- Despite lacking Presley’s iconic music due to budget constraints,
Bubba Ho-Tep
remains a cult classic in the horror genre.
As the late singer enjoys a surge in popularity amid multiple recent biopics, Bruce Campbell reflects on playing Elvis Presley in Bubba Ho-Tep. The Evil Dead star led the cast of the 2002 horror-comedy as Presley, who actually swapped places with an impersonator after becoming disillusioned with stardom, and now lives in a Texas retirement home, where no one believes he’s the real Elvis. When the residents of the retirement home become the target of a revived mummy, Elvis and a man claiming to be JFK must fight to save everyone.
In honor of the anniversary of the late singer’s death, Campbell took to his Twitter to pay tribute with a reflection on Bubba Ho-Tep.
The post, as seen above, features a still of Campbell as Presley joined by his entourage as they pose on the set of the movie. The star also included a caption with the post in which he recalls the oddity of playing Elvis at the same age the singer died, while ending it with a reference to the late singer’s iconic catchphrase of “Taking Care of Business“.
Bubba Ho-Tep Is A Unique Outlier In The World Of Elvis Movies
While certainly not the first of its kind, Bubba Ho-Tep remains something of an outlier in the world of films about the late singer with its different approach to exploring his life. Prior to the Campbell-led movie, there had been a number of depictions of Elvis’ life, particularly in the ’70s and ’80s following the singer’s death in ’77, including Kurt Russell and John Carpenter’s 1979 Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated TV movie, and 1981’s This is Elvis, a documentary that also including re-enactments in which Presley was played by Paul Boensch II, David Scott, Dana MacKay and Johnny Harra.
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With Bubba Ho-Tep, though, writer/director Don Coscarelli took Joe R. Lansdale’s short story of the same name and brought an alternate history approach to Presley’s life, explaining that the singer swapped lives with an impersonator, and he was the one who died while the real Presley fell into oblivion. The story took things a step further by establishing that JFK survived his assassination attempt and had his skin dyed black by the government to keep him safe from another attempt. While the movie explored some of Presley’s life via narration and flashbacks, the majority was set in the present day.
Beyond the bizarre alternate history premise and pitting Campbell’s Presley against a mummy, Bubba Ho-Tep also remains an outlier in the world of Elvis movies in that it features none of the late singer’s iconic music. Coscarelli previously cited this as stemming from the movie’s small $1 million budget, which would’ve seen half of it go to licensing to include any tracks. With Bubba Ho-Tep remaining a cult classic among horror genre fans and having seen strong reviews on its release, though, it remains a welcome outlier from an oversaturated genre of Presley biopics.
Source: Bruce Campbell/Twitter
Bubba Ho-Tep
When residents of their nursing home start dying of dubious causes, an aged Elvis and an African-American senior who claims to be President John F. Kennedy discover that the perpetrator is an Egyptian mummy with murderous intentions.
- Director
- Don Coscarelli
- Release Date
- June 9, 2002
- Writers
- Joe R. Lansdale , Don Coscarelli
- Cast
- Bruce Campbell , Ossie Davis , Ella Joyce , Heidi Marnhout , Bob Ivy , Edith Jefferson