GORE IN THE STORE
REVIEWS BY FANS FOR FANS
5 STAR FAB - 1 STAR RUBBISH

Beyond The Rave
Hunter Prey
7th Dimension
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Splintered
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The Torment
(Second Opinion)
Hierro
Psycho - Blu-Ray
Pet Shop of Horrors
Kaiji:
The Ultimate Gambler
Shelter
Fullmetal Alchemist:
Brotherhood Part 1
The Final
Bubba Ho Tep - Blu-Ray
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Vampire
The Dead
Resurrecting
The Street Walker
The Haunting Of
Molly Hartley
Soul Eater: Part One
Rozen Maiden:
Traumend Vol. One
Bikini Girls On Ice
Diary of a Bad Lad
Satan's Baby Doll
Feast 111
Phobia
A Lizzard in a Woman's Skin
Valhalla Rising
City of the Living Dead
Dorothy
Daybreakers
Daybreakers
(Second Opinion)
Harpoon: The Reykjavik Whale
Watching Massacre
Harpoon:The Reykjavik Whale
Watching Massacre
(Second Opinion)
Feast 3:The Happy Finnish
Raging Phoenix
His Name Was Jason
Left Bank
Ju-On: White Ghost/White Ghost
Spiral
Ghost Machine
Stag Night
Bitch Slap
The Descent 2
The Descent 2-Second opinion
Dance of The Dead
Henry Lee Lucas: Serial Killer
House Of The Devil
The Twilight Saga
New Moon
Salvage
Salvage-Second opinion
Dread
The Haunted World of
El Superbeasto
Saw VI
The Horseman
Triangle-Second opinion
Triangle
Cabin Fever 2-Third opinion
Cabin Fever 2-Second opinion
Cabin Fever 2
Stan Helsing
Pandorum
Pandorum-Second opinion
Open Graves
Paranormal Activity
Growth
Growth-Second opinion
Train
Antichrist
Wrong Turn 3
Coffin Rock
Orphan
Sorority Row
Drag Me to Hell
Staunton Hill
Summer Moon
Driftwood
Messengers 2

 

Directed by Don Coscarelli.  Starring Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis. USA.  HORROR/CCOMEDY.  92 minutes.

Anchor Bay will be releasing Bubba Ho-tep on Blu-ray on 12th July 2010.

The King is dead.  Long live the King.  For years conspiracy theorists have claimed that the King of rock and roll did not die a horrible death in a bathroom aged 42, rather that Elvis is working at their local truck stop.  Now, however, we know the truth.  Years after swapping lives, inadvertently irreversibly, with the top Elvis impersonator of the time, he has been hiding in Shady Rest - a typical Texan rest home along with another celebrity in hiding, John F Kennedy.  Poor JFK was hidden in the home by sneaky Lyndon B Johnson.  He’s also been dyed black so that no one would realise the skulduggery that had taken place.  Together the King and the President must join forces and get their mojos back to take on an ancient Egyptian mummy stealing the souls of their fellow inmates.  So, just your run of the mill horror film then…

Although the brief story outline above sounds like complete gibberish, Bubba Ho Tep is actually a fantastic film, which had a criminally small distribution when it was released and has since obtained, quite rightfully, almost cult status, resulting in this Blu-Ray release.  A lot of this is down to the performance of Bruce Campbell, who should be well known to all horror fans as Ash from the Evil Dead series.  Indeed, there are shades of the later Evil Dead films in Bubba Ho Tep, particularly in the gross humour about the "growth" on Sebastian Haff/Elvis' pecker and the knowing nods to both films’ inherent silliness.  Campbell truly gives the performance of his career, and whilst I can't claim to be the world's biggest expert on Elvis impersonators, I would say he could give any of them a run for their money.  Somehow, despite the paunch and the ravages of age, he still manages to exude charisma as well as depression – this is a truly memorable performance that almost carries the film on its own.  Ossie Davis is a superb sidekick as Jack/JFK, albeit rather less convincing a turn than Campbell’s, for obvious reasons. Finally, Ella Joyce deserves a mention as the patronising nurse you pray you will never get stuck with when you are too old to do anything about it.

Bubba Ho Tep may have a ludicrous set up, but it is a film full of laugh out loud moments (as one might expect if they’re familiar with Coscarelli’s Phantasm series) but rather more surprisingly there are many equally touching and poignant insights about life and mortality that ring true for all of us, even if we aren't fallen superstars fighting an evil mummy.  It is very easy to take potshots at this film – the effects are cr ap and it all ends rather too quickly, but anyone with a heart should seriously consider watching this if they haven’t already.

The Blu-Ray transfer is superb; it’s fairly safe to say this film has never looked better, with a stunning depth of colour and crystal clear sound.  SJ, not having seen the film before, probably benefitted hugely from this upgraded presentation, but personally, despite the great extras, I’d question whether I would pay out again for a film that was given pretty reasonable DVD treatment last time round.  In fact, some of the improvements actually highlight the poor effects, so be warned.

All in all though, a genuine cult classic.  It’s a really shame the promised Bubba Nosferatu never made it to the screen.

Bonus material:

The team really have rolled out everything they can for the fans including: Intro by Bruce Campbell, audio commentary by Don Coscarelli and Bruce Campbell, audio commentary by "The King" (a must listen), the original short story reading, deleted scenes, making of featurette, make up and special effects featurette, costumes, music, UK premiere Q&A, interview with Bruce Campbell, photo gallery, trailer, biographies etc.

Alex: 3 stars
Sarah-Jane: 4 stars.

Alex & Sarah Chambers.

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