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Don't even ask how I was able to
swing a sneak peak at this film -- let's just say I know a guy whose
wife just happens to be the sister of director Don Coscarelli and
when my friend asked me to go and see the film with him, I more than
jumped on the opportunity. For those of you who have to wait
like the rest of America, the film opens in limited release on
September 19, and expands to more theatres in October, I suspect
around Halloween. And, the begin the body of the review, this
is one of the best films I have seen all year long, and one of the
best horror comedies I have seen in my entire life. This one
makes "Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn" and "House"
seem pathetic in comparison.
Bruce
Campbell stars as Elvis Presely. It turns out that the 'real'
Elvis swapped places with one of his impersonators many years back,
to escape the public eye. The impersonator died of a drug
overdose and the 'real' Elvis has been trapped inside of a
retirement home, trying his best to reclaim his lost glory for many
years. While in the home, Elvis befriends an African-American
man named Jack (Ossie Davis), who claims to actually be John F.
Kennedy -- 'they died me this color', Jack proclaims. When
residents of the nursing home start to disappear, Elvis and Jack
discover strange hieroglyphics in the men's room, prompting them to
believe that the killer must be a soul-sucking mummy from beyond the
grave, a Bubba Ho-Tep. The men then team together to stop the
mummy before it takes the souls of every person in the home,
including themselves.
This
movie was fun and innovative from beginning to end. The
creature effects on the mummy are top notch, and the performances
from Campbell and Davis are some of the best in recent horror film
memory. Davis is especially endearing as Jack, and Campbell's
unyielding legion of fans will only multiply after this cinematic
marvel.
When I
finished watching this film, I felt as if I had just watched a
breakthrough in the art of cinema, a film so unusual, yet so
miraculous that it would confuse audiences and critics alike.
I am sure most critics will go in wanting to loathe the film, but I
do not see how any critic could. I have never seen a film like
this, and doubt that I ever will again, until the sequel is released
(they are wanting to turn this into a series of films, which might
be a damn good idea).
The
amazing thing to me is that this film had such a sleek look. I
heard it was very low budget, but you certainly could not tell if it
was. It seems to me that this had much more of an expensive
look than either "Freddy vs. Jason" or "Jeepers
Creepers 2". And, it was more entertaining. I
recommend this film to anyone and everyone and encourage you to
catch it as soon as it is released. I was amazed at this
motion picture and I am certain you will be also.
-- Billy
Ray (
4 out of 4 pops )
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