Bubba Ho-Tep and I have finally made up. I get it. I finally get why the movie absolutely works and why my punk-ass comments when it was originally released were so naïve. To borrow a line from Gatsby's Nick Carraway, "In my younger and more vulnerable years," I was a complete tool.
With the film now available in a Limited Edition SteelBook from Shout! Factory, I decided it was the perfect excuse to revisit Don Coscarelli's cult classic. Turns out I owed the movie an apology.
When I first saw Coscarelli's horror/comedy, I was expecting a much different movie. Bruce Campbell (Ash vs. Evil Dead) plays an aged Elvis and the great Ossie Davis plays an old man who believes himself to be JFK.
With those two actors cast, I was already in awe. I never thought that Campbell could be understated and funny. But he is. I did not think that at the time. And I, for damn sure, never understood Davis' skilled handling of a character that is as paranoid as he is presidential.
The entire project—even the cowboy hat-wearing mummy—zipped right over my head. It didn't fit neatly into any category I recognized. It wasn't scary enough to be horror. It wasn't broad enough to be comedy. I walked away thinking it had failed at both when, in reality, I had failed to meet it on its own terms.
In Bubba Ho-Tep, the two main characters find themselves confronted by a rather unnerving scarab. Its continued presence leads them to believe there is some serious shit at play in their nursing home. After a series of residents get killed, they actually leave their beds and their rooms to investigate the supernatural events plaguing The Shady Rest Retirement Home. What they discover is that a 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy is very much alive and ready to suck their souls from their butts.
When I rented the DVD back in 2002, I was expecting ass-kicking hilarity and buckets of gore. What I got instead was a meditation on regret, dignity, and growing old. My youthful mistake was judging the movie for not being the film I wanted rather than appreciating the film Coscarelli actually made.
Critics loved it—even the ones I respected—but I didn't see what they saw. Oh, there's some ass-kicking in it, but it involves canes and wheelchairs and makeshift flamethrowers more than kung-fu and karate chops to the head.
Thankfully, Bubba Ho-Tep has survived the initial judgment from youthful peons like myself who dismissed it back in 2002. More than twenty years later, the film remains as unique and affecting as ever. It. Is. Great.
Coscarelli is in complete command of the material, and Campbell finds both humor and heartbreak in his portrayal of an aging Elvis. Whether he's complaining about a pus-filled boil on his manhood or shuffling through the halls behind a walker, every joke ultimately circles back to the same uncomfortable truth: none of us outruns time.
Bubba Ho-Tep is a quietly deceptive B-movie. It's damn near perfect in its execution of poignant subtleties and, rather effortlessly, matches its wild premise with a fitting denouement as legends come to terms with the cold fact that their culture only appreciates the young. Their fiery confrontation with the mummy is both hysterical and oddly moving, complete with a final message to a beloved figure in rock-and-roll history.
The film features cameos from Phantasm regulars Heidi Marnhout, Bob Ivy, and Reggie Bannister. It also features handiwork from many of the same collaborators. Coscarelli knows who to trust and how to get things done on a very tight budget.
Too bad, then, that we have yet to see the proposed sequel hinted at during the closing credits. Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires might have started as a joke, but in the years since the film's premiere, the possibility of actually filming the sequel has been discussed. Even Paul Giamatti has spoken of his interest in playing Colonel Tom Parker.
More than twenty years after its debut, Bubba Ho-Tep remains one of the strangest and most heartfelt films ever disguised as a drive-in monster movie. It's funny, sad, absurd, and unexpectedly wise. Much like Elvis himself, it turns out the old bastard still has plenty of life left in him.
And now, thanks to Shout! Factory's Limited Edition SteelBook release, a whole new audience has the chance to discover what some of us took far too long to appreciate.
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray / SteelBook / Collector's Edition
Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - June 2, 2026
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Video: Native 4K; Dolby Vision, HDR10
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray lokced to Region A
Bruce Campbell (Army Of Darkness) stars as an aging and cantankerous "Elvis" in Bubba Ho-Tep, from writer-director Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, John Dies At The End)! When mysterious deaths plague a Texas retirement home, it's up to its most sequined senior citizen to take on a 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy with a penchant for cowboy boots, bathroom graffiti and sucking the souls from the barely living!
VIDEO
As for the new 4K presentation, Shout! Factory has done right by Coscarelli's low-budget classic. The upgrade preserves the film's intentionally rough-around-the-edges aesthetic while offering a noticeable improvement in detail, color stability, and contrast. Fine textures in the nursing home interiors are more apparent, and the East Texas locations benefit from a warmer, more natural look.
Just as importantly, the transfer avoids scrubbing away the movie's film-like qualities in pursuit of artificial polish. Bubba Ho-Tep was never meant to look pristine, but this new presentation is easily the best the film has looked on home video.
AUDIO
The audio upgrade is equally impressive. Joe R. Lansdale's offbeat tale has never been a particularly effects-heavy experience, but the lossless track brings new life to the film's atmospheric sound design. Dialogue remains crisp and clear throughout, allowing every weary Elvis monologue and JFK conspiracy theory to land with greater impact. The soundtrack enjoys a welcome boost in fidelity as well, while the mummy's supernatural presence benefits from subtle but effective surround activity. Like the video presentation, the audio respects the film's modest roots while delivering the strongest home-theater experience Bubba Ho-Tep has received to date.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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There are several! See below for the details.
Special Features:
Shout! Factory has also assembled an impressive collection of legacy supplements, making this SteelBook more than just a visual upgrade. Returning extras include audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews with cast and crew, and a wealth of material exploring the film's unusual journey from cult oddity to genre favorite. Fans interested in Coscarelli's filmmaking process, Bruce Campbell's performance, or the enduring appeal of Joe R. Lansdale's story will find plenty to dig into. Combined with the new presentation, the supplemental package helps make this edition the definitive home-video release of Bubba Ho-Tep.
DISC ONE (4K UHD):
- NEW 4K Scan From The Original Camera Negative
- In Dolby Vision (HDR 10 Compatible)
- Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
- Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Don Coscarelli And Actor Bruce Campbell
- Audio Commentary With Author Joe R. Lansdale
- Audio Commentary With “The King”
DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):
- NEW 4K Scan From The Original Camera Negative
- Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
- Previously Unreleased Featurette: Bubba Ho-Tep Filming Locations Then And Now
- Previously Unreleased Featurette: Bubba Ho-Tep Egyptian Theatre Premiere
- Previously Unreleased Featurette: Bubba Ho-Tep At The Toronto Film Festival
- Audio Commentary With Director Don Coscarelli And Actor Bruce Campbell
- Audio Commentary With Author Joe R. Lansdale
- Audio Commentary With “The King”\
- The King Lives – An Interview With Bruce Campbell
- All Is Well – An Interview With Don Coscarelli
- Mummies And Makeup – An Interview With Makeup Effects Artist Robert Kurtzman
- The Making Of Bubba Ho-Tep
- To Make A Mummy – Makeup And Effects
- Fit For A King – Elvis Costuming
- Rock Like An Egyptian – How Celebrated Composer Brian Tyler Created The Stunning Score
- Bubba Ho-Tep – The Music Video
- Joe R. Lansdale Reads Bubba Ho-Tep
- Deleted Scenes With Optional Audio Commentary With Don Coscarelli And Bruce Campbell
- Footage From The Temple Room Floor
- Archival Bruce Campbell Interviews
- Music Video
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spot
- Photo Gallery
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Composite Blu-ray Grade
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MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 92 mins
Director: Don Coscarelli
Writer: Don Coscarelli
Cast: Bruce Campbell; Ossie Davis; Bob Ivy
Genre: Horror | Comedy
Tagline: The King vs. The King of the Dead.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Come and get it, you undead sack of shit."
Theatrical Distributor: Vitagraph Films
Official Site: https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/bubba-ho-tep-collector-s-edition?product_id=4795
Release Date: October 10, 2003
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: February 7, 2023.
Synopsis: Bruce Campbell (Army Of Darkness) "gives his greatest and most entertaining performance to date" (Premiere) as an aging and cantankerous "Elvis" in this "zinger-filled crowd-pleaser" (The Hollywood Reporter) from writer-director Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, John Dies At The End)! When mysterious deaths plague a Texas retirement home, it's up to its most sequined senior citizen to take on a 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy with a penchant for cowboy boots, bathroom graffiti and sucking the souls from the barely living!
