Mini-Movie Review - Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)

This…..is not a good movie. But it’s a really fun movie that every horror fan should watch at least once. So should every fan of Bruce Campbell. The story itself is from a short story by the incomparable Joe R. Lansdale.

Here’s the gist, and it’s a doozy: Campbell plays none other than Elvis. Yep, the man himself. Only it’s Elvis pretending to be an Elvis impersonator. See, Elvis got tired of the regular grind of celebrity and fame. So, he traded places with the best Elvis impersonator out there. You’ll have to watch the movie to get the entire hilarious story. Including how he wound up in the Shady Rest Retirement Home.

Elvis is aided, or maybe encouraged, by his best buddy at the home, Jack, aka Jack Kennedy. The President has been the victim of some sort of government conspiracy that has gone so far as to dye his skin black and stick him in a retirement home. Other than the craziness of his claims, Jack is very cultured, well read, and intelligent.

And then, there’s the mummy, who wants to feed on the souls of the residents so he can gain his full powers back and rejoin the land of the living. There are a few other equally wonderful characters as well, but it comes down to Elvis and Jack to figure out what’s happening and put a stop to it.

Seriously, this is a wonderfully funny movie. Watching Campbell clomping around with the aid of a walker while fighting a mummy is something that needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. The acting is spot on. The movie was, I think, done on film, so it has an almost grainy quality to it that suits the dingy setting of the nursing home. And you can tell that everyone was having fun during the filming.

Gaming wise, this would be good for any fun horror setting. Or you could take out the humor – leave that for your players – and just keep the setting. Having a mummy lurking around draining patients of their energy and souls would lead to a very dark adventure. Call of Cthulhu comes to mind, because I run it so much, but I think there are some Bloat Games that would lend themselves to this treatment as well. And with a few more tweaks you could even take it to a fantasy setting. Although you might want to rethink the mummy and use something more appropriate for your setting. Heck, this could be a truly horrific Vaesen setting, now that I think about it. Because, honestly, the setting would be great for several different types of scenarios and adventures.

If you’d like to see what other movies I’ve got on my schedule this month, check out my post here. And if you’d like to play along, check out Pun’s blog, Halls of the Nephilim, for his daily theme suggestions.