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Bubba Ho-Tep
Vitagraph Films


8.7

based on 29 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 29 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for language, some sexual content and brief violent images

Starring Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Reggie Bannister, Bob Ivy, Ella Joyce, Heidi Marnhout, Larry Pennell, and Harrison Young

Based on the Bram Stoker Award nominated short story by acclaimed author Joe R. Lansdale, Bubba Ho-tep tells the "true" story of what really did become of Elvis. (Silver Sphere Corporation)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Horror \| Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Don Coscarelli Joe R. Lansdale (short story)
DIRECTED BY:	Don Coscarelli
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: May 25, 2004 Video: May 25, 2004 Theatrical: September 26, 2003
RUNNING TIME:	92 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Best Actor (Campbell) and Best Screenplay, 2003 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

I loved this film; from the opening “Ben-Hur” nod to the hieroglyph subtitles, it's simultaneously hilarious and poignant, with great performances.

The Hollywood Reporter David Hunter

A zinger-filled crowd-pleaser that open-minded Elvis fans (but by no means all) will have fun with.

Newsweek David Ansen

A one-of- a-kind horror movie: hilarious, a little scary and strangely poignant. Campbell’s cranky, valiant, sad-sack King is a soulfully funny creation.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

Campbell is flat-out great, muting his beloved Sam Raimi shtick in favor of a genuine character turn, an act of transformation that makes you wonder why he's never been called on to interpret Elvis before.

Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman

A charming surprise, the kind of neat little low-budget movie that seems more like a collaboration among friends than it does a corporate investment.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Endearing and vulgar in about the right proportion. The movie doesn't exactly work, but sometimes when a car won't start, it's still fun to look at the little honey gleaming in the driveway.

Premiere Aaron Hillis

A wildly creative amusement, thanks mostly to Campbell, whose weathered yet still-taking-care-of-business Elvis is alone worth the price of admission.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

Surprisingly good as a quirky triumph of human spirit.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

As a satire and an off-the-wall comedy, Bubba Ho-Tep hits the bullseye. As a horror movie, it's less successful. Maybe we're too busy laughing to be scared.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

It's a credit to the actors, particularly the superb Campbell, that completely preposterous material can be made strangely touching.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Not a comedy of guffaws and goofy gags, but a wry, underplayed little piece with an undercurrent of loss and abandonment.

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

This horror-comedy about an aging Elvis in a haunted rest home proves not only is "Evil Dead's" Bruce Campbell a good actor, but possibly a great one.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

The film's good humor is often betrayed by its low-budget roots, however, as though it couldn't afford to be more original or ambitious than its premise.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Much of the film is sub-sophomoric, but Campbell and Davis give hilarious deadpan performances.

Empire Chris Hewitt

Diehards might be disappointed at the lack of chainsaw wielding, but this is Campbell’s finest hour since you-know-what.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Based on a short story by Joe R. Lansdale, this low-key oddity stresses character over broad laughs and shock effects, allowing Campbell and Davis to develop a quirky rapport that's a real pleasure to watch.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Playing against rubber-faced type, cult icon Bruce Campbell grounds his Elvis in a wry, understated swagger that holds the film's wacky excesses in orbit and does more honor to the legend himself than a thousand Vegas lounge-show wannabes.

Chicago Tribune Kevin M. Williams

Coscarelli, the man behind the long-running "Phantasm" splatter series, can't quite conjure a complete movie out the concept and stretches the material until its humorous conceits repeat ad nauseum.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

It's the sort of sophomoric exercise that will be appreciated chiefly by viewers already convinced they love it even before they've bought their tickets.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Mismatched marriage of offbeat character study and unimaginative horror riffs. Most compelling element by far is Bruce Campbell's inspired performance as a nursing home patient who insists he is the real Elvis Presley.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A leisurely paced, subtly funny, though verbally crude chamber piece.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A leisurely paced, subtly funny, though verbally crude chamber piece.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Don Coscarelli, writer-director of the logy, fatuous Bubba Ho-Tep, is trying to will a cult movie into existence -- which, of course, never works.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Adapted from a story by Joe R. Lansdale, this might have squeaked by as a half-hour "Twilight Zone" episode, albeit with jokes about toilets and erections in old age.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

There is a grungy high spirit during the first third of this film, but then it dissipates like a mist from an aerosol can.

Village Voice Ed Halter

Though unpainfully entertaining, its greatest dose of otherworldly mojo must have been spent warding off straight-to-video status.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Limp spoof.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

The film stars Bruce Campbell of the "Evil Dead" series as Elvis in a touching, funny and at times grotesque performance that is actually the best thing about the movie.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Davis contributes his usual dignity -- not easy when you're playing a character who thinks he's John F. Kennedy dyed black -- but it's not enough to save this silly thriller-comedy.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 29 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Lenny S. gave it a3:
Bleegh. Cute idea goes off the rails, bores you stiff.

Bill S. gave it a10:
Outrageous plot. Crazy characters. Delicious dialogue. How could you not love this movie? Although it is not very scary (for a horror film, that is), it sure is entertaining. Don't rent it, buy it. You won't be sorry.

simon h. gave it a10:
The plot sounded so rediculous I had to try it once. Boy am I gald I did. This was a touching soul retreiving from out of the gutter movie. Wiith all the horror kept at enough of a low level it was easy to see what the characters were about. Oh and Campbell as Elvis-GENIUS!!!!

Steven D. gave it a2:
Funny lines but everything else about this was terriable.

Chad S. gave it a 7:
What "Bubba Ho-Tep" leaves unanswered, is what gives this film its sad context. Priscilla, Lisa-Marie, his father, and anybody that The King associated with, knew that Sebastian Haff was a replacement, and respected Presley's wishes to be left alone. But after twenty-plus years following Haff's death on a Graceland toilet, you can see on Presley's face that nobody went looking for him. Mum is the word because this conspiracy allowed a lot of people to make money off his death and legacy. What looks like cheap jokes(the growth on "Little Elvis") at Elvis' expense, can be construed as the very real humiliations of a lonely man. Bruce Campbell's dead-on impression of Presley is somewhat wasted by all that Egyptian mummy nonsense, because all that old man-angst could've been used to indict an America for its cold-hearted jokes about his weight and drug use. My feeling is that nobody expected a B-movie actor like Campbell to be this good; so good that he helps transcend a silly cult film-wanna be into respectability, while making you wish they had attempted a serious mounting of this attractive "What if?" scenario. Nevertheless, you can't accuse "Bubba Ho-Tep" of lacking an imagination.

Jeff L. gave it an 8:
Cult fave Bruce Campbell gives a wonderful performance as an aging Elvis Presley, living out his not-so-golden years in a sleepy Texas retirement home. Along with fellow resident JFK (wonderfully played by the great Ossie Davis), the King is called upon to fight a particularly nasty Mummy who lives by feeding off the souls of the living. Whether you're a horror fan, an Elvis freak, or a fan of the offbeat, this is a hilarious and weirdly poignant effort from auteur Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, The Beastmaster.)

Cory M. gave it a 10:
Wonderfully understated, gently bizarre. It isn't at all a "joke" comedy, the humor really hits about 1/2 way through when you suddenly ask yourself what the hell you are seeing.

Bubba Ho-Tep Vitagraph Films

Bubba Ho-Tep
Vitagraph Films