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If Bruce Campell will be a punk ad infinitum and refuse to make a fourth
Evil Dead flick, then I hope to hell he keeps making movies like this.
I haven't laughed at a movie so hard in a theater in years, and
honestly, I haven't felt a pang of guilt at the death of what could have
been such two-dimensional comic devices since Chasing Amy.
This movie, the story of Elvis, the real Elvis who switched with the
imposter who died on the toilet, uniting with JFK, who's been placed
into the body of the late, great, not to mention BLACK Ossie Davis, to
take out an ancient mummy from hell bent on sucking the souls of the
elderly out of their tired assholes.
Now THAT, my friends, is a plot that I can get behind.
If you've got half of a dirty sense of humor (and I've got one for both
you and me), this movie is Mecca, pure Mecca. Full of the one-liners and
geek heaven that made Army of Darkness such a rewarding piece of total
unmitigated crap that we watch at least twice yearly, this movie pokes
fun at things we typically avoid.
Dying old people, anachronistic
cursing mummies, men with flamethrowers in wheelchairs, and diabolical
nurses who love to spread the evil cream on the suffering elder male
penis. There's even a scene where a woman in a helpless position has her
cookies stolen by a fat, evil elderly compatriot, only to have her
dispatched by a giant bug. WOOT!
It is also, for all of this, a touching examination of what it means to
grow old and helpless, to lose the ability to do all of the things that
you love and take for granted. As hokey as the premise is, the mummy is
a real and credible threat that you cheer at when he dies. And best of
all, it ends with a promise of Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the
She-Vampires.
The visual work is stunning, and the DP deserves an award
for establishing fully half of the credibility of this film. The
dialogue is tight, and funny, and cynical, and well put. There is not a
dull moment in this film. It is 92 minutes long, and it's one of those
movies that feels like it's three hours long, for all it imparts and all
of the "moments", if you will.
There's not much more than I can say, other than to get your butt out
there and enjoy Ossie's final romp, Campbell's latest, and a reasonable
argument for why the box office this summer was so low: Less flicks like
this are being made. Enough said.
- Despite the fact
that Elvis Presley is the main character, not one piece of Elvis's
music is heard. Coscarelli explained that it would have cost about
half the budget to license one of Elvis's songs for the movie.
- KNB Effects
agreed to make the Bubba Ho-Tep make-up and costume for cost of
materials as a favor to Don Coscarelli.
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