I am putting my look at Disney movies on hold for a little bit, as something important has come up that I knew I needed to address as soon as possible.
This is a sad one for me, because I do it in memory of my grandmother, Janet Elliott, who passed away on the evening of May 28th at the age of 95. She had been my last remaining grandparent. It's sad, but I know it was her time: She's finally at peace, and reunited with my grandpa and others in Heaven.
She was a brilliant genealogist who traced my mother's side of the family back over a thousand years (She once said my earliest known ancestor was a Viking warrior who lived in the tenth century AD), even before the advent of all the ancestry- type Internet sites that would come along in the last 10- 15 years or so, and uncovered links in our ancestry that I never could have imagined.
She was a classy and sophisticated woman with a lot of appreciation for art, history and especially literature, driving home for us the importance of knowledge, both gaining it and then sharing it with others. It's why, when I spoke at her burial yesterday, I used a couple verses from Proverbs, as that whole book deals largely with the importance of wisdom and knowledge.
This last point about her is why this is going to be a strange entry on the Nightcrawler Experience. It deals with a movie that honestly does not hold much in the way of class and sophistication, and I doubt Grandma would have been much of a fan of it, yet as I rewatched it recently, it not only reminded me of Scriptural lessons, but also of her. So, I decided to look at it here in honor of her. That movie is known as 'Bubba Ho- Tep.'
(Credit for this image goes to the user Brian Kurtz at https://headhuntershorrorhouse.fandom.com/wiki/Bubba_Ho-Tep?file=Bubba_Ho-Tep.jpg)
It is a 2002 horror- comedy film (Though it is MUCH more of a comedy film than a horror film), starring one of my all- time favorite actors, Bruce Campbell, as well as the late Ossie Davis.
DISCLAIMER! This film is rated R, mainly for language. So, be aware before watching it or letting kids watch it!
The story takes place in a massively run- down and depressing Texas nursing home. Bruce Campbell plays a resident of the home who claims to be none other than Elvis Presley, apparently still alive all these decades after he had been believed dead. The explanation "Elvis" gives for this is that he had basically grown tired of fame and switched identities with an Elvis impersonator named Sebastian Haff, so it was really Sebastian Haff who had died of a heart attack that day in 1977, while the real Elvis comfortably faded into obscurity impersonating himself. Now, however, he is a fat old man stuck in this rathole of a nursing home, wondering how he could have gone from the King of Rock 'n Roll to his current miserable state. One of the few friends he has in the nursing home is a man named Jack (Ossie Davis), who has his own interesting claim on a famous identity: He claims to be John F. Kennedy. While the account "Elvis" gives of how he is still alive isn't TOO farfetched and could possibly be the truth, you definitely get the feeling that Jack is just kind of loopy (He claims that it's all one enormous conspiracy; When it's pointed out that he is black and John F. Kennedy was a white man, he responds, "That's how clever they are! They dyed me this color!").
Things start to get interesting when we learn that an ancient, cursed Egyptian mummy was stolen from a nearby museum by a couple guys. A freak storm suddenly kicked up as they made their getaway, causing the stolen bus that the thieves were using to go off a bridge and into a river near the nursing home, and the mummy eventually manages to come back to life and escape from the river, now clad in a cowboy hat and matching boots (Presumably taken from one of the dead thieves). It heads to the nursing home each night, and begins sustaining itself by sucking the souls from the elderly residents there (I'd rather not mention HOW the mummy does this, as it's not pleasant), killing them in the process. What's worse, we find out that those who die in this way don't get to go on to the afterlife or anything, as their souls are simply digested. Elvis and Jack eventually discover together what's happening, and realize that they're the only ones who can stop the mummy (Which Elvis at one point nicknames "Bubba Ho- Tep," due to the cowboy duds it wears) and thus save themselves and all their friends at the nursing home from meeting this horrible fate.
'Bubba Ho- Tep' does have a few problems, I'll admit. First up, they could have revealed more of the mummy's backstory. Elvis at one point reads a bit of the mummy's mind (Long story), causing us to see through a brief flashback that in life, he was a rather prominent Egyptian citizen, possibly the brother of a pharaoh, who for some reason was mummified alive and cursed; However, unlike Boris Karloff's Imhotep in 'The Mummy' (Or, for that matter, Arnold Vosloo's performance as the same character in the Brendan Fraser version of that film), we never learn why this particular ancient Egyptian received such a severe punishment. If the flashback scene were a bit longer, it could have revealed that. Also, we only really meet a couple of the other nursing home residents besides Elvis and Jack, and even then only briefly (Though I suppose that's somewhat understandable; Since most of the other people there clearly think Elvis and Jack are both nuts, it makes sense they wouldn't be terribly popular); Letting us get to know a couple more of them would help better drive home the urgency of the situation. A final minor issue I had with the film was that there's kind of a running joke centering around the fact that Elvis has an infected, probably- cancerous growth on a certain part of his anatomy (Fortunately, it's never seen; That fact apparently made Bruce Campbell feel much easier about accepting the role). It gets a little tiresome after a while.
Alright now, there's plenty to like about 'Bubba Ho- Tep.' First, there's how unique it is (And not just the fact that the heroes are apparently celebrities who are supposed to be dead). Since so many horror movies involve characters no older than 30 or so, seeing a horror film in which the heroes are elderly is quite refreshing. Speaking of which, the film does a good job of pointing out/ criticizing the attitude that so much of our society has toward the elderly, the way our culture views them as just unnecessary burdens dumped into nursing homes to die.
The film perfectly fits the definition of a horror- comedy, as it has both scary moments (Particularly the way that, when the mummy is walking towards someone, all the lights near it either go out or burst, as if they cannot tolerate its evil presence), and incredibly funny moments (i.e. Many of Elvis's narrative monologues are hilarious).
The mummy itself looks great, a brown rotted corpse in a cowboy hat and boots, with a slow walk and a few mystical powers (i.e. it phases itself through a locked door in one scene and teleports in another scene, as well as its aforementioned soul- sucking). Unlike mummies in other films, this mummy is largely silent; It only says two lines, growled out in ancient Egyptian with amusing hieroglyphic subtitles popping up to translate it.
As for set designs, most of it takes place in the nursing home, which looks suitably dull and run- down, probably with a whole laundry list of health/ safety- code violations. I'd imagine that when elderly people are afraid that their kids might have them put in a nursing home, they envision it as being a lot like this one.
The film's music is an interesting subject. It is mostly very well- done, taking generally the same melody but styling it several different ways, depending on what the mood is for each scene it's used in. There are times when it sounds creepy, times when it sounds rocking and fun, times when it sounds slow and inspirational, and so on. The music was all written and performed by Brian Tyler, doing every instrument. First he'd record himself playing the drums, then he'd record himself playing the guitar, and so on, and finally splice all the recordings together so it sounds like a full band doing it, and it sounds great.
Last but not least, there's the performances. Bruce Campbell is hoestly magnificent as Elvis. He pulls off the accent perfectly, and goes on a full range of emotions throughout the movie. He starts out bitter and disgusted with himself and his present state, then obviously frightened when he learns that the mummy is real, and finally brave and stoic as he realizes the time has come for him to confront Bubba Ho- Tep and be the hero so many people viewed him as in his prime. He is also, as usual, incredibly funny, with one great line after another. I'd say it's easily one of Campbell's best performances.
Ossie Davis turns in a good performance as Jack, aka "JFK." Even though, as I said, you get the feeling that he's probably just a crazy old man, he still comes across as quite intelligent on several topics, and is a very likable character with his own amounts of funny lines (i.e. Near the film's climax, when Elvis asks him what Marilyn Monroe was like, Jack responds, "That is classified information! Top secret! But, between you and me..... WOW!").
A worthwhile supporting performance comes from Ella Joyce as Elvis's frustrated nurse. She comes across as a woman who has clearly put up with Elvis's rather rude behavior and the various other unpleasant duties of her job for a very long time and become grudgingly accepting of them if only for the sake of humoring him.
In short, 'Bubba Ho- Tep' is quite an entertaining movie, a great horror- comedy film worth a watch if you're into that genre. It's also currently available to watch for free on VUDU, if you have an account with that site (Which is free).
As for both Scriptural messages that can be taken from 'Bubba Ho- Tep,' and how I tie it to Grandma, the two are connected, as the Scriptural lessons I took from it can also remind me of her in certain ways.
First and foremost is the message shown on how important it is to properly treat and care for the elderly. This film is a subtle yet great indictment of the despicable apathy that so much of our society can have towards the elderly and infirm, viewing them as relics and burdens to be tossed into third- rate nursing homes to die alone and largely forgotten by those who profess to care about them. We see this early on in the film, as Elvis's roommate, "Bull," dies from an illness in one of the opening scenes. His adult daughter, Callie, comes by to clear out his things, and we see her rather callously tossing some of Bull's stuff into the trash, including even his Purple Heart medal that he apparently had been quite proud of (Fortunately, Elvis manages to save it, and keeps it with him at the climax of the film, as some "Good mojo" to help as he and Jack prepare to confront the mummy). During a brief conversation Elvis has with Callie, he notes that he had never seen her around the nursing home before, to which Callie cold- heartedly replies that she had only been there once before: When she first dropped her father off there. Bull had been there presumably for years, yet his own daughter never ONCE visited him or did anything for him during his time there.
For how this connects to my grandma, it's because of the gratitude I have that my family and I WEREN'T like that towards her. We always stayed in touch with her and checked in on her well- being, frequently visited her, and did everything in our power to make her as comfortable as possible. When we had to put her in a home during her final weeks, even though the facility was on complete lockdown due to the COVID- 19 pandemic, one of my aunts would talk to her through the window of her (Grandma's) room! I am immensely grateful that I was able to call her four days before she passed, and she seemed to be in good spirits then. Even though Grandma's last few weeks on this Earth were not often enjoyable as her body broke down, she had the peace of knowing that her family dearly loved her, were thinking about her and praying for her, and did all they could for her.
We all as Christians are to similarly show compassion and respect towards the elderly. Even early on in the Bible, in Leviticus 19:32, one of God's commands for the people of Israel is "You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God; I am the Lord." So, God right away wanted His children to honor and respect the aged people among their numbers. In Psalm 19:32, it says "Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Forsake me not when my strength is spent." While the Psalmist is technically speaking to God with that exhortation, it can apply to people around him, as well. Lastly, there is a verse I've used a couple times in the past on this blog, but it still holds true: 1 Timothy 5:8 says "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." We must look after all in our families, young or old, not toss them aside.
Another important Scriptural point to take from the movie relates to the importance of wisdom and knowledge. In spite of how eccentric the character Jack is, he is also a surprisingly intelligent, well- read person who even at his age has not grown tired of learning new things, and the library research he conducts relating to the mummy proves invaluable in helping him and Elvis to stop it. As for why this relates to Grandma, I'd say it's because she was a good deal like Jack in the film (Minus his delusions of grandeur, of course); As I said earlier, she was an incredibly intelligent and wise person, well- versed on a variety of topics, and eager to impart that knowledge to others so they can learn as well. She remained that way all her life, striving to learn more and help those close to her do the same. Indeed, the first things I think of whenever I think of Grandma are generally her wisdom and intelligence.
We should all seek to continue to read and learn more, the way Grandma always did, ESPECIALLY as Christians. Proverbs 1:5 points out that "A wise man will hear and increase understanding, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel." Also, Proverbs 3:13 says "Happy is the man who gains wisdom, and the man who gains understanding." God would not have us be ignorant, but continue to grow and expand the incredible minds He has given us. Grandma understood that truth, and we all should do the same.
I'd say the final message to be taken from 'Bubba Ho- Tep' concerns how to leave this world in peace. In the very end of the movie, Elvis has destroyed Bubba Ho- Tep, kept his own soul intact, saved the others in the nursing home from falling victim to the foul creature, and it appears that he even managed to save some of the souls that the mummy had drained (As the mummy expires, we see what look like human souls flying out of it). However, he was mortally wounded in the process and knows his time has come. Before he dies, Elvis looks up into the night sky, and to the accompaniment of a soft yet incredibly beautiful and tranquil piano rendition of the film's theme music, he sees some of the stars move around to form Egyptian hieroglyphics that spell out a simple yet poignant phrase: "All is Well." The meaning to that is clear: With the cursed mummy destroyed and all the people in the nursing home and elsewhere now safe, harmony and balance have been restored, and Elvis can now die in peace knowing that he did the good work he set out to do.
This connects to Grandma, as I believe as she neared the end, she similarly had no fear or worry about death; She led a very long and full life, and more importantly, she knew Jesus, and thus knew that her death would not be the end, but a new beginning, so she was able to pass on with peace and ease in that knowledge. I wouldn't be surprised if her final thoughts were some variant on that phrase, "All is Well."
Indeed, for those of us who follow Christ, death is nothing to be afraid of. Jesus says in John 11:25- 26 that "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" Also, Revelation 14:13 says, "And I heard a voice from Heaven, saying, 'Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' 'Blessed indeed,' says the Spirit, 'that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!'" For us who trust in Jesus, death means we can rest from the cares and worries and labors of this life, and experience an incredible, eternal new life in Heaven, peace in the best sense. Grandma is experiencing the truth of this firsthand at this moment.
So, that sums up my look at 'Bubba Ho- Tep,' and at the great life of Grandma Elliott. Rest in peace, Grandma, you've earned it a hundred times over.
That's the end of this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Keep an eye out for when I resume my look at Disney films, which will be very soon. Until then, take care, stay safe, and may God bless you all!
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