Don Coscarelli
Bubba Ho-Tep

Plot:

(the plot is completely revealed in the first 10 minutes of the film, so I won’t spoil it for you...)

Elvis “The King” Presley died at the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis on August 16, 1977, at 3:30 PM. That's what everyone believes. In reality, the one who died that day was Sebastian Haff, an Elvis impersonator who had the honor of swapping identities with the King some time before, as Elvis was tired of the show business world that was killing him day by day. The two signed a contract in which the lookalike agreed to return everything that belonged to the real Elvis when the latter got tired of the switch.
In the guise of Sebastian Haff, the King manages to create a new life and enjoy it as he hadn't been able to for a long time, but the unexpected awaits him. First, he loses his copy of the contract, then, during a concert on his impersonator tour, he falls off the stage, breaking his hip and ending up in a coma. Upon waking up, the King discovers that Sebastian Haff has died, leaving him trapped for life in the impersonator’s garments.

Years pass, and an old Elvis has been living in the “Shady Rest” nursing home in Texas for a few years. The only one who believes his story is a fellow resident who claims to be John Fitzgerald Kennedy... Survived the '63 assassination, had a significant portion of his brain removed (replaced with a sandbag), and undergone a change of appearance with which the FBI keeps him hidden from the world’s eyes (um... the man is African American).
If you think this plot is grotesque, hold tight because this is just the introduction... the story picks up when the two old V.I.P.s notice some suspicious deaths within the hospice. They will investigate until they discover that the residents of “Shady Rest” aren’t dying of natural causes or illness: their souls are being devoured, digested, and crapped out (in the visitors’ toilet) by the Egyptian pharaoh Amen Ho-Tep! Thus begins the titanic clash pitting The King and J.F.K. against Bubba Ho-Tep... who’s your money on?

Everything-that-doesn’t-strictly-concern-the-plot:

calling this film a horror and comparing it to what has been seen in theaters for almost 20 years would be an insult and misleading. The only horrors it shares something with are “Evil Dead 3”, “Shaun of the Dead”, and the “Phantasm” series (for obvious reasons). No sex and dumb bimbos getting slaughtered in stupid ways, no implausible heroes/heroines dealing with brain-damaged maniacs.
The film is based on a novella by post-modern* writer J. R. Lansdale, and beyond the grotesque plot, it portrays with absolute realism and poignancy the monotonous daily life of the elderly in the hospice grappling with the inevitable nostalgia of the past, annoying (and debilitating) urinary tract infections, the loneliness from being away from (if not abandoned by) their loved ones, the humiliating condescension of the nurses who treat them like children. And naturally, the conflict with the soul-sucking mummy, which breaks the monotony and gives life a sense.
Throughout the film, director Don Coscarelli alternates melancholic reflections with exchanges brimming with black humor, grotesquely implausible (and damnably amusing) episodes with rare action moments, totally coherent with the characters' age (thankfully, no super-powered old folks).

Bravo and bold Coscarelli: bold because he decides to bring to screen a story blatantly outside any scheme, causing quite a few production issues; bravo because with a ridiculous amount of money, he managed to shoot an excellent film using simple and stylish direction, with his signature clearly recognizable.
The only special effect present besides the mummy (a giant cockroach) was intentionally made unreal and crude, further proof of how the film never takes itself seriously. The original soundtrack is spot-on**: rocking during action moments, epic (a bit spaghetti western) in the touching ones.
Oh right, the actors... as you may have noticed on the poster (I chose the pre-release one), Elvis Presley is played by a Bruce Campbell, I assure you, in a state of grace; he is phenomenal in giving credibility to the emotions of a character with such an implausible story and two such different souls: on one side the Legendary King of Rock 'N' Roll, on the other a simple elderly man.
Great performances also from Ossie Davis (J.F.K.) and Ella Joice (a very irritating nurse... actually a bit sexy too).

!!! WARNING !!! NOT AVAILABLE IN STORES !!!
The film (2002) has never been distributed in Italy, neither in cinemas nor on DVD***... to watch it in Italian, you can download the file “bubba ho-tep ita.srt” (it's perfectly legal as it was created by a saint who translated it with the sweat of their brow) and place it in the same folder alongside the divx (which you will rename “bubba ho-tep ita.avi”) legally created by compressing the Bubba Ho-tep DVD (bought imported from any e-shopping site). May heaven strike you if you download it illegally from the site!!!!!

* don’t ask me what post-modern means... my friend Google suggested I write it

** the budget was so ridiculous that the cost of the rights for one (1) Elvis song would have drained half of the resources (declared by the producer)

*** in contrast, cinema blockbusters like “Notte Prima Degli Esami – Oggi”, “Saw 3”, and “Epic Movie” have just passed through theaters across Italy and will soon be in all stores. Long live Italy.