The Bubba Series: The Story So Far
SPOILERS LIE AHEAD - If you have not seen Bubba Ho-Tep you might not want to read the following page. The text below outlines the story of the movie, so first-timers beware!
In 2001 the movie Bubba Ho-Tep was released. It was a low budget tale that is tough to categorise. Falling somewhere in the realms of indie suspense horror comedy, the movie was a tough sell.
The movie follows an ageing Elvis Presley as he rots away in a lousy nursing home in Mud Creek, Texas. He is old, withered and bed-ridden. He is a pitiful excuse for a man, he does his best to remember his glory days. The staff at the residential home don't believe that he really is indeed Elvis 'The King' Presley (played by B movie superstar Bruce Campbell). Perhaps it is something to do with his current name, Sebastian Haff (also played by Bruce Campbell).
The story goes that in his glory days Elvis grew tired of the celebrity and wanted to return to a simpler pace of life. He sought out the best Elvis impersonator he could find, he found Sebastian Haff. Sebastian Haff kneels before 'The King' and agrees to switch places under the condition that if Elvis ever wanted to trade places again that they could do so. Simple contracts were exchanged to make it official between the two of them. At this point they go their separate ways.
Elvis goes back to basics and hits the road doing performances and begins to enjoy life again. Sebastian takes over as the 'real' Elvis and has the time of his life. Elvis' copy of the contract was unfortunately destroyed in a freak barbecue accident and he then has no way to ever go back to being the original Elvis Presley.
We switch back to the present day at this point. We meet some of the other poor souls stuck in this residential home. After being initially distrustful of Elvis, Jack 'JFK' Kennedy (yes, that one!) takes a chance and starts talking to Elvis. In this case Jack Kennedy (played by the late great Ossie Davis) is in fact an old black man. He claims that he was not shot in Dallas in '63, but that he had part of his brain removed by agents of the government and was then dyed black to conceal the truth. Over the course of the movie Jack and Elvis become united in their search for a mysterious ghostly figure who roams the halls of the nursing home.
The deduce that this nightly apparition is some sort of "freaky Bubba Ho-Tep", an ancient Egyptian mummy who is trying to heal himself by sucking the souls of the elderly residents in the care home. The weak souls of these people means that he himself is weak, slow and awkward in movement, much like Elvis and JFK. He needs to keep sucking the souls of the residents from between the lips the old folk don't kiss with...
After a number of brief encounters with Bubba Ho-Tep it comes down to the now good friends to do away with Bubba Ho-Tep once and for all. The pair are partially rejuvenated by the thrill of the chase and gather together their best clothes (Elvis dons a spangly, caped white costume from his glory days) and equip themselves with their best mummy fighting equipment (purple heart medal CHECK! Lone ranger mask CHECK! Portable gasoline spray CHECK! etc) and then TCB. TCB? "Take care of business..."
The pair head outside to ambush Bubba Ho-Tep before he can steal the souls of any more of their fellow residents. The final segment of the movie is as action packed a sequence as a weak living-dead mummy, a wheelchair-bound former President and an ailing Rock 'N' Roll star can manage. After losing Jack to Bubba, Elvis takes care of Bubba and sets things right once again. Unfortunately it is not just the end of the movie that fades to black, Elvis dies shortly before the credits. He does however die at peace with himself. The King is dead! Long live The King!
As the comedy credits scroll by and we sit back contented and happy we see that the final mention in the credits is a short announcement that 'Elvis will return in Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She Vampires starring Sebastian Haff". This was originally intended to be a joke, but after strong DVD sales of Bubba Ho-Tep the possibility of there being a follow-up movie is very real.
Bubba Nosferatu is in its very early stages of production at the moment. Don Coscarelli, the director of Bubba Ho-Tep, is currently trying to scrape together enough funds to make the film a reality. Details about the movie are pretty scarce at the moment, but the movie is supposed to take place in the past making it a prequel rather than a sequel. The movie is rumoured to be set at a time when Elvis visits New Orleans and encounters the She Vampires. It is not yet known if this will be the real Elvis or if this will be Sebastian Haff playing Elvis.
This site is here to keep you informed about developments of Bubba Nosferatu and to help do what it can to help the prequel to cult classic movie Bubba Ho-Tep a reality. Stay tuned for more info as we get it!