Bubba Ho-tep

Bubba Ho-tep is a 2002 American comedy horror film starring Bruce Campbell as Elvis Presley — now a resident in a nursing home. The film also stars Ossie Davis as Jack, a black man who claims to be John F. Kennedy, explaining that he was patched up after the assassination, dyed black, and abandoned.

The film was co-written, produced, and directed by Don Coscarelli. The title comes from a novella by Joe R. Lansdale which originally appeared in the anthology The King Is Dead: Tales of Elvis Post-Mortem. Originally the film was "roadshowed" by the director across the country. Only 32 prints were made and circulated around various film festivals, though these garnered critical success. By the time it was released on DVD, it had already achieved cult status due to positive reviews, lack of access, and inclusion of (and similar on-the-road hard work by) Campbell.

While the novella and film revolve around an Ancient Egyptian mummy (played by Bob Ivy) terrorizing a retirement home, Bubba Ho-tep also involves the deeper theme of aging and growing old in a culture that values only the young. The film also features a cameo by Reggie Bannister, the cult hero of Coscarelli's Phantasm series.

Many of Bubba Ho-tep's crew also worked on the films in Coscarelli's Phantasm series. A partial list includes producer Jason R. Savage, assistant director Rosa Gonzalez, actors Heidi Marnhout, Bob Ivy, and Reggie Bannister, production designer Daniel Vecchione, costume designer Shelley Kay, make-up artist Melanie A. Kay, special effects artist D. Kerry Prior and Robert Kurtzman, Gregory Nicotero, Howard Berger, first assistant camera operator Precy C. Betiong, editor Scott J. Gill, the original Phantasm's sound mixer Paul Ratajczak, original Phantasm producer Dac Coscarelli, Phantasm III & IV cinematographer Chris Chomyn and art director Justin Zaharczuk.