Campbell & Coscarelli: Transcend Bubba Ho-Tep Beyond Cult Status Before it Got There

n the horror film genre, there are certain types of films that are designated as “cult” films. Cult films, if you are not familiar with the phrase, are movies that don't necessarily do well in the box office, but end up developing a large fan base through the combination of video sales and word of mouth. Re-Animator, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Dawn of the Dead, are considered some of the most classic cult films in horror. Even non-horror films such as Donnie Darko and The Big Lebowski are considered cult films.

These films tend to have one if not a few things in common; low budget, bad special effects, less than stellar acting, major plot holes in the story, inexperienced directors, and possibly an incoherent ending (The Big Lebowski may be an exception to this, I feel it was just marketed incorrectly by the studios).

Even though these seemingly bad things happen in the above mentioned films, they end up finding an audience that appreciates the work. The special effects might not be mind blowing, or even close to realistic, but the story, the idea, the images of terror, that is what the audience appreciates. Take, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the way the actors deliver their lines is almost comical but when they catch a glimpse of Leatherface, there terror they display becomes real. That entire film could be crap (I happen to think it's pretty well done) but the scenes in which Leatherface appears, gives the film credibility in that the audience collectively bonds with each other in their fright. All experiencing nightmare together.

It's that collective bond that usually formulates after a few years. For example you may have been one of ten people to go see Dawn of the Dead (the 78' version), now you geek out when you meet someone else that has seen the film and enjoyed it, (the internet has made it a little easier to find like-minded souls on these matters). But it's a terrific surprise when you meet someone that enjoyed the same film that got trashy reviews and generally dissed by the majority of the population. In a sense, cult films are like high school nerds that go to college and become popular in their dorm, sometimes having festivals revolve around them (more in the case of the film than the nerd).

In 2002, a film was released that featured the greatest cult film actor paired up with arguably the greatest cult film director. That movie was Bubba Ho-Tep, those two giants of the “B” movie world were Bruce Campbell and Don Coscarelli. The film found an audience over time, but transcended cult status before the label was even placed on it.

Bubba Ho-Tep was made for a paltry million bucks and shot in 30 days (which apparently, according to Campbell in an interview is a long time for that amount of money). Cocsarelli ponied up most of his cash and actually was able to save money by having some of the special effects done as favors.

The concept of the film was taken from a short story written by Joe R. Lansdale. 68-year old Elvis Presely (portrayed by Campbell) has been stuck in a nursing home for the last 20 years. However, prior to his “death” he had switched places with an Elvis impersonator named Sebastain Huff, who died after the switch. With no way of proving he's the real Elvis, the nursing home staff believes he is Sebastain. However, his mistaken identity and cancer (on his penis) are not his only problems. A soul-sucking mummy has chosen the nursing home as his feeding ground to sustain his life. Elvis decides to team up with Jack, a black man who believes he is John F. Kennedy (portrayed by Ossie Davis) to save the nursing home and destroy the mummy.

It sounds ridiculous right? In fact, there are parts that are. Watching a 68 year-old Elvis battle a mummy with a walker and a bad hip is hilarious. But this film goes beyond Elvis verses a mummy. There's a tremendous amount of depth to this film, something that some cult films lack. Evil Dead for instance is a great film that's both scary and fun to watch, but there isn't much depth behind the fact that a bunch of college kids release an evil in the woods that comes for their souls. Bubba Ho-Tep forces the viewer to take a break from the absurd and concentrate on character depth.

Bruce Campbell turns in probably the best performance of his career. He, with the help of Coscarelli, create an Elvis that, if he were alive, would probably be pretty damn accurate. A lot of rock journalists and pop-culture writers like to make off-kilter jokes that Elvis did himself a favor and killed himself when he did because he was starting to lose it (these writers don't blatantly come out and say this, but it's implied. I often wonder in five more years will the same jokes be made about Kurt Cobain?).

In the film, Elvis is lonely, disgraced, regretful, and ponders on the past and his loved ones. All this is displayed through not only the narration that is done by Elvis, but through the mannerisms and facial expressions that Campbell gives to the character. His voice is a spot on imitation of Elvis, and the look is so realistic as to what a washed up dying Elvis would look like. But you really see and feel the emotions of a once American Icon fallen into disgrace. The look of embarrassment when his nurse helps him with his “thing that they do.” His voice carries a tone of sadness and the need for companionship when he talks about Priscilla. These tragic emotions and powerful performances are not displayed in your typical cult horror film.

At this point in the essay, if you don't know who Campbell or Coscarelli are you are probably asking (I am giving myself some credit that you are still reading this essay) two questions: Who the fuck are these guys and if this movie is so damn good, why hadn't I heard of it, or why didn't it do better? Valid questions, and I will tell you.

First off, we will start with Bruce Campbell, mainly because most people have heard of him, they just don't realize it, and secondly, because Coscarelli and the second half of that above question go hand-in-hand.

Campbell, as I have stated is the king of cult films. He played Ash in the Evil Dead trilogy (for those of you that didn't know this Army of Darkness is technically Evil Dead 3, which is by the way, the one that most people have seen). He was also in two television shows that very few people watched, but will dress up as characters from when they go to Comic-Con. They were The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. and Xena: Warrior Princess. He's also had roles in other cult films such as Maniac Cop, Escape from L.A and Darkman. Currently, he plays the role of “Sam Axe” on the USA Network show Burn Notice, which in itself is sort of a “B” rated espionage show.

Campbell has always had terrific acting chops. He's always been able to diversify his roles and find steady work in Hollywood, even if he's not a household name (this is true because I asked one of my ten supervisors at work if they knew who he was, and they said no. I than mentioned Burn Notice and than a light bulb came on). But Campbell has made himself a nice career in doing roles and movies that he is interested in.

If you never heard of Coscarelli, it's a little more understandable. Coscarelli doesn't have the volume that Campbell has, but what he does have is arguably the most popular cult horror film franchise in history, the Phantasm films. If you never heard of the film or it's three sequels, it's okay, (also if you never heard of The Beast Master, his sword and sorcery franchise, that is alright as well, it's a cult film for Dungeons and Dragons nerds).

Phantasm had just about every element you would expect in a “B” rated horror flick. Over dramatic line delivery, confusing story, an unnecessary jam-session. But it was genuinely scary with an uber creepy soundtrack, one of the scariest central villains ever created in “The Tall Man,” and one of my favorite cliff hanger endings in a movie. The movie constantly made you question everything you saw, you were never sure if it was real or a dream sequence. It confused the hell out of it's viewers, but years later found a core audience that clamored for more.

The movie could have stood on it's own. There was no need to really make a sequel unless Coscarelli wanted to expand the universe. Major studios knew this, they saw the potential and wondered what kind of a product they could get if they gave Coscarelli an inflated budget (Phantasm was made for $300,000), quality caliber actors, and a larger distribution.

However, Coscarelli never wanted his vision to be tampered with. He turned down projects such as Conan: The Destoryer, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge, Silver Bullet, and he even passed on the 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot. Mainly because studios wanted to interfere with his creative process. So therefore he expanded on Phantasm and The Beast Master movies.

Since 1998, the Phantasm series has been put on hold. At one point New Line offered to produce the next movie but wanted a straight up reboot. Coscarelli didn't like the idea and shelved the project until he could afford to make a part five the way he wants to.

That's why Bubba Ho-Tep is so special, it was made by a film maker with uncompromising vision. A man willing to sacrifice a larger audience release, so that the finished product would be appreciated when it fell into the proper hands (those hands could be anyone really).

Unlike most cult-films, Bubba Ho-Tep was initially recognized for what it was. Both Campbell and Coscarelli were either nominated or won many independent film awards, including the Bram Stoker Award given Coscarelli for best screenplay. In their minds (particularly Coscarelli) it's better to be recognized by your peers and people who enjoy watching movies, as opposed to making tons of money and sacrificing art.

It's a movie that could have been easily done by a large studio. Tom Cruise would have been cast as Elvis, while Danny Glover would have played Jack (although Ossie David may have still gotten the role). There would have at least been four more explosions, the mummy would have been all CGI, the soundtrack would constantly play Elvis songs, and it would have been PG-13 as opposed to R, so the studio would attract a larger audience.

But it didn't need it, just like it doesn't need the “cult” status slipped into it's description to attract people to watch it.