Went to downtown DC tonight to go see Bubba Ho-Tep (main site), an odd little horror film in which Elvis and JFK, both stuck in a Texas nursing home, discover that an Egyptian mummy is sucking the souls out of residents. Stray thoughts:
- Bruce Campbell is Elvis. He just is.
- On the other hand, JFK as played by Ossie Davis is clearly the sidekick, and the script doesn't do as much with him. Thinking about the movie some more, Campbell's character is obviously the real Elvis, while JFK is (I think) delusional.
- For a cheesy horror film, the ending is surprisingly poignant.
- As you'd expect in a cheesy horror film, the effects are never quite convincing enough.
- Exactly how the mummy got his hat and cowboy boots is never explained.
- In Roger Ebert's review, he says "I said the movie doesn't work. And so it doesn't. How could it work?" This is a bit harsh; I think the film is intended to be a B-picture, and it succeeds quite well at that task, and I really enjoyed the audacity and novelty of the concept.