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Review: 'Bubba Ho-Tep' 178

Dark Paladin writes "I just got done watching Bubba Ho-Tep . Lucky for the viewers, the actor, Bruce Campbell was there afterwards answering questions. He was quick of wit, rather forgiving of the fans who kept wanting to ask Evil Dead questions, and even made fun of his own career (such as big budget movies like Congo that flopped -- not his fault, in my humble opinion)." Read on for the rest of Dark Paladin's review.

Someone asked Campbell whether he expected an Oscar nomination, something he joked off. As I stepped out, I happened to find myself right next to the actor for a good 10 seconds, and I thought about telling him how Thursday morning, the same time that I first heard about the movie, National Public Radio's review mentioned that he did deserve an Oscar nod for his portrayal of Elvis Presley as an old man. I'm actually regretting I didn't mention that in passing, but who knows -- maybe someone will encourage him to go for it, because it's a better performance than some of the butt-kissing, self-important, Oscar-begging performances we've been seeing from so-called "artists." And dang, but it would be great to see the words "Bubba" mentioned even once at the Academy Awards.

But, the movie. Check out the website if you need to (and give them a slashdotting they won't forget). The story sounds stupid, but it's actually incredibly clever.

The story revolves around Elvis. No, the real Elvis. Seems that he didn't die -- back in the 1970's, he traded places with an Elvis impersonator, and that was the guy who died on a toilet of a drug overdose. The real Elvis went on as an impersonator of himself, carefree until a hip injury landed him a hospital, in a coma, and now into old age.

So the real Elvis is now an old man in a retirement home with a cancerous growth on his penis at the age of 80, still wearing those shades (prescription glasses now). Laughed at by nurses, treated like a child, and played expertly by Bruce Campbell.

Yes, Mr. Campbell pulls of an incredible performance. He could have played the role of Elvis trying to save a retirement home like many of his other characters -- a hammed-up, cocky action hero. Or taken the Austin Powers route and just made fun of it with a wink and a nudge.

No, Mr. Campbell plays it straight. This Elvis is old, sometimes suffers from dementia, moves slowly and painfully, and is regretting throwing away his fame, fortune, and family. He's going to die all alone, and all of his accomplishments are going to be for squat. He was a fake, and he has no one to blame but himself for his problems.

But he's not going to let some Egyptian mummy suck his soul out of his ass, like the other members of the retirement home he lives in might. Nor that of his best friend, John F. Kennedy (played by Ossie Davis with class and energy) who was dyed black by the CIA after they replaced bits of his missing brain with a bag of sand.

It sounds like a funny movie, and it is. There are some one-liners that could only be delivered by Bruce Campbell himself. But the biggest jokes come in directions you don't see coming at all, and unlike most of your Hollywood movies, you don't see them telegraphed a mile off, because the filmmakers in this case don't assume the audience is stupid. Yes, there are some Elvis comments as jokes (such as the trademark "Thank you very much"), but you don't feel like they were put out there with gigantic neon signs to remind you "Hey, it's Elvis!". If the audience catches them (and most of the time, they did), great -- if not, the movie is just as funny and spooky.

At the same time, there is an element of a true horror movie. Mummies aren't anything to be afraid of, according to the old stereotype of them moving in slow, shambling steps: anyone even close to young ought would have to be incredibly slow to even fear getting caught.

But how about a geriatric with a broken hip, confined to a wheelchair or inflected by dementia? Bubba Ho-Tep uses its situation -- the retirement home, full of slow-moving people who aren't listened to or believed by the figures of authority, treated like they were less than children. Some of them can't even defend themselves or comprehend the danger they are in until it's too late, and when they die, no one is surprised -- after all, they were old, right? When you have a man who's claiming to be Elvis who saw a mummy sucking the soul out of someone's ass: well, he's got a credibility issue to start with.

An old man in a walker trying to escape a slow-moving mummy, it's not only credible, but makes for some of the most inventive action and horror scenes I've seen in some time. Nearly all the effects are done simply, just makeup and lighting, but used to wonderful effect. Not bad for a movie that, according to Campbell, was shot in only six weeks. The editing is probably the best special effect used in the movie, for moments such as Elvis meeting his impersonator self, or the encounters with the dreaded Bubba Ho-Tep. Don Coscarelli, the film's director, uses the cameras without flash, just correct camera angles and cuts like an expert painter uses a brush.

Bruce Campbell performance as Elvis is nothing short of incredible. The makeup is so wonderfully applied, most of the time you don't see Mr. Campbell, you see the King, now old and defeated by age (though it's hard sometimes to cover up that trademark square jaw). Elvis hasn't had an erection in years thanks to the pus on his pecker, he's got cancer, and nobody cares -- but as you see him start to fill up with life and that gleam come back in his eye as he fights for his soul, you can't root but cheer for this underdog.

And this film may be an underdog too, with nothing but fan word of mouth working for it, but it certainly deserves its fair chance on the big screen.

If there's one problem with the movie, there is a little bit of a slowdown about three-quarters of the way through, and an important plot device is gone over nearly three times -- but the pacing is otherwise nearly perfect. Especially when dealing with life inside a retirement home, where time itself can sometimes seem to be slow and almost forgetful of where it's going.

Bubba Ho-Tep is one of the funniest and most enjoyable movies I've seen this year. I wouldn't use the words "Triumph" (as, according to Mr. Campbell, that's a sure sign a movie should be ran from), but I would say it was worth the $8 I paid for the ticket. It's playing in limited theaters, and you can find the details at the film's website. In a summer full of too many sequels, big-budget special effects and explosions that offer mere flash in the pans, Bubba Ho-Tep is as satisfying as a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Do yourself, and independent films a favor and go see it.

Thank you. Thank you very much.


And thanks to Dark Paladin for this review.

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Review: 'Bubba Ho-Tep'

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  • by akedia ( 665196 ) * on Sunday October 05, 2003 @12:32PM (#7137638)
    Small [akamai.net]
    Medium [akamai.net]
    Large [akamai.net]
  • Amazon Link (Score:2, Informative)

    by Sir Haxalot ( 693401 )
    here [amazon.com]
  • by twoslice ( 457793 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @12:34PM (#7137649)
    An old man in a walker trying to escape a slow-moving mummy

    sounds hillarious...

  • elvis? (Score:2, Funny)

    by micronix1 ( 590179 )
    this is by far one of the weirdest things that i've read about on /. in the past month. bring on the soviet russia jokes.
  • http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0281686/ [imdb.com]
    Also, I never heard of this film before. Anyone care to clue me in on the history of how this film came to be?
    • Re:Imdb link (Score:3, Informative)

      by gilesjuk ( 604902 )
      It's on the IMDB page

      "Based on the Bram Stoker Award nominee short story by cult author Joe R. Lansdale,"

      I guess someone read the story and thought it would make a good film, probably Don Coscarelli (of Phantasm fame).
  • "Phantasm" (Score:3, Informative)

    by humberthumbert ( 104950 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @12:39PM (#7137676)
    In case you didn't know, the director of this film (Don Coscarelli) is also the genius behind the Phantasm http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079714/ series of horror flicks....

    Bar none the best horror movies ever, IMHO....
  • I was there! (Score:4, Informative)

    by preric ( 689159 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @12:39PM (#7137677)
    The movie was... okay.

    Big tip: DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER OR READ ABOUT THE MOVIE (if you haven't already). Trailer gives away the majority of the funny/clever scenes (you will agree with me after viewing).

    All in all, it was a decent flick. Bruce looks strange dressed normally and not in his Evil Dead outfit.

  • Distribution Rights (Score:5, Informative)

    by Momomoto ( 118483 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @12:43PM (#7137703) Homepage
    I got in touch with my local independent movie theatre [bytowne.ca] to see when it would be shown, and they told me that there currently is no Canadian film distributor for Bubba Ho-Tep.

    I urge any Canadian interested in seeing this movie to get in touch with their own indy theatres and ask them the same thing I did. If enough people show interest, I'm sure that the right people will hear that there's enough of a market for their company to secure distribution rights.

    • If there is no distributer, what about film festivals? I have a ticket for Bubba Ho-tep right here for the Leeds (UK) film festival. However whether it will get a general release here, I don't know.

      If you have any kind of local film festival where you are, it may be worth getting in touch with the people running it and see if they can get a print of the film.

      For any UK people reading, its being shown next Saturday as part of the all-nighter (5 films back to back from 10pm till 8am) which is what I am off
      • I know it's been shown at the Toronto and Montreal film festivals, but there's no word on a general release for anywhere but the US on the web site.

        I sent the webmaster the question, I'm assuming I'll get the same response: No distributor.

  • Of course, Bruce Campbell was in the classic Army of Darkness too!!
    • And before that, Campbell was in the even greater horror-comedy classic Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn [imdb.com]. And in the first Evil Dead movie too, but that just didn't have the same panache. Evil Dead II is one of my all time favorite movies. It's surreal, you will laugh your ass off, the horror/suspense angle is very weak but I don't think that was the point of the movie. If you thought Ash was kewl in Army Of Darkness, you have to see this.
      • Don't forget Evil Dead and Within The Woods.

        Within the woods is Evil Dead, but extremely low budget, which funded Evil Dead.

        I don't know where you can find Within The Woods... other then some popular file sharing applications.

        P2P networks don't exactly make it easy to find independent films... but its not exactly a bad method of distribution. Too bad there isn't a compensation method in there.

        • I knew Evil Dead was pretty much the low-budget precursor to Evil Dead II, but I didn't know about Within the Woods being the even lower-budget precursor to Evil Dead.

          A good summary [x-entertainment.com], with pictures that are good at getting across the quality of the film available... that is, poor.

          Given how scary the filming conditions sounded for Evil Deads I & II, I'm impressed Bruce Campbell and the Raimis have managed to survive this long.
          • Its very, gooey er gory....

            At one point a zombie just decides to start ripping off its limb that had been stabbed. I can't remember if a similar scene was performed in Evil Dead.

            Bruce plays .... *drum roll* .... Bruce

            Other little things like that.

            Still, pretty much Evil Dead though.

    • by rufus t firefly ( 35399 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @01:06PM (#7137817) Homepage
      Of course, Bruce Campbell was in the classic Army of Darkness too!!

      We'll all just pretend that this is sarcasm, and that the poster actually knows that Army of Darkness is Evil Dead 3. Not that someone else won't point that out between "hail to the king, baby", "this is my boomstick" and "shop smart, shop S-Mart" comments...

  • by evenprime ( 324363 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @12:47PM (#7137717) Homepage Journal
    it has gotten some really good reviews [rottentomatoes.com], too.
    • That '84% positive' is not an unbias statistic. The movie has pretty much one glowing beacon of PR going for it -- Bruce Campbell. A great majority of people who will go see Bubba Ho-Tep in its limited run are Bruce Campbell fans. Now, the movie could be mediocre at best, but a disproportionate number of Bruce Campbell fans would be swayed to still give it a positive review merely because it's got Bruce Campbell in it. I'm not saying that Bubba Ho-Tep is bad (I haven't seen it yet), just that with such

      • I'm not saying that Bubba Ho-Tep is bad (I haven't seen it yet), just that with such a limited run, you're not getting a fair sample of movie-goers. And, frankly, I'm surprised that it's as low as 84%.

        I'm going to take a wild stab here and speculate that you've never been to rottentomatoes.com either. If you had, you would know that the tomatometer is not a random sampling of Bruce Campbell fans, it's a sampling of published movie reviewers.

        Meanwhile, as more reviews are added to the site, the rating ha
  • Since I first heard about this movie I have been trying to get the word out about it. Where I live I have a little-to-none chance of seeing it in the theatre unless it gets into the big theaters.

    When I first heard about it, they were having problems with getting the film distributed - a problem which is now partially solved.

    The more people who make mention of this, the more likely we are to see this appear in theaters everywhere - even if only for a short time.

    I am still dying to see it out here.
  • Joe Landsdale (Score:4, Interesting)

    by NixterAg ( 198468 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @12:51PM (#7137744)
    I've gotta get a plug in for fellow Nacogdoches, Texas (the place where the shuttle came down...so to speak) resident Joe Landsdale, who wrote the short story on which the movie was based. He's written quite a few horror novels, most of them set in the East Texas area. He's probably best known for his novel 'Bad Chili'. Check out his website [joerlansdale.com].
    • Actually... (Score:4, Informative)

      by Onan The Librarian ( 126666 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @01:14PM (#7137857)
      It's "Lansdale", and I'd say he's even better known for his "Night They Missed The Horror Show", which is truly one of the most outrageous extreme horror stories I've ever read. He's also the author of the short-lived "Jonah Hex" comics, as well as the sometimes-yea, sometimes-nay series of novels starring the unlikely duo of Hap Collins (ass-kicking young white trash) and Leonard Pine (even better ass-kicking aging black fag). I read anything and everything I can find by Joe, so if you ever meet him in Nacogdoches TX please tell him he's got a *monstrous* fan in Findlay OH !
      • Ahhh, I know it was Lansdale but it seems my brain was taking a vacation. Thanks for the correction. If I see him, I'll tell him!
  • Stoopid Question... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by bolind ( 33496 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @12:51PM (#7137745) Homepage
    ...What does the title mean? I might be getting the "Ho" part, but that's about it.

    • Refers to the Imhotep, an Old Kingdon Egyptian high preist.
    • Watch the movie and all shall be explained.
    • Bubba refers to a southern bumpkin, aka Elvis.
      Ho-Tep is the name of the mummy.

      Maybe "Bubba vs Ho-Tep" would've been more intuitive. But not as catchy.

      The next movie is supposedly going to be "Bubba Nosferatu".
    • I haven't seen the film yet (and I really hope they release it near me), but I am pretty sure its going to be a play on words...

      Hotep or -hotep is ancient egyptian for 'peace'. The meaning chagnes depending on the context, so could mean 'at peace', 'to grace', etc.. That root is often used in honorific titles of pharoahs/gods and very important folks i.e. Amenhotep.

      So that is probably the case, Bubbahotep... something along the lines of 'Blessed Bubba who Graces us'...
      shad'up and enjoy the movie..
    • by FooGoo ( 98336 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @01:37PM (#7137937)
      The word Bubba is used in the US to refer to someone from the south. Usually a male. That is white trash but may have a veneer of class. Think Bill Clinton.

      Ho-Tep can refer to any number of egyption figures such as Ptah-Hotep or Akhti-Hotep
    • just fyi... this exact question is answered within the first 5 seconds of the movie ;)
    • "Bubba" is a nickname for any random Southern cracker. It's so common it's trite, like calling all Russians "Ivan".

      "Ho-tep" is a different matter. For one thing, it's spelled wrong. "Hotep" doesn't have a hyphen. It's really "htp", as Egyptian, like Hebrew, is written without vowels, and it means "gift". It's not a family name. A number of pharaohs were named "Amonhotep", and that means "gift of Amun". "Imhotep" was the vizier of the pharaoh Khufu, and is generally regarded as the architect of the G
  • Bruce at QAs (Score:5, Informative)

    by leeward ( 313589 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @12:53PM (#7137753)

    I'll definitely have to agree with the reviewers comments about Bruce Campbell's style for question and answer sessions. He showed up for a screening of Army of Darkness that I attended, and answered quite a few audience questions. He was very entertaining and witty, and did not think any questions were too dumb to answer. When a fan asked a question about a particular stunt he had performed in a previous movie, he provided an imprompto demonstration right on the stage, to everyone's delight (and being a wood stage, it must have hurt a bit). A very nice guy, who didn't seem to have let fame go to his head.

    • Re:Bruce at QAs (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Cylix ( 55374 ) *
      Bruce did a question and answer session on sci-fi channels irc server. This was about the same time of save farscape occurrance.

      I saved the whole chat log somewhere, but he is just as funny in text as on stage.

      It was a relatively small audience of about 300 chatters with a moderation/question submission in progress to keep the clammer down.

      irc.sci-fi.com ? I think... they usually announce question/answer sessions in the topic.

      Bruce is always very down to earth and is definately a little tired of the Evi
    • Re:Bruce at QAs (Score:3, Interesting)

      by GregGardner ( 66423 )
      Bruce and the director did a Q&A at the end of the Bubba Hotep showing at the San Francisco Independent Film Festival, too. Two of the most memorable moments where when:

      1) Someone asked him if he was going to do Evil Dead 4, and he replied, "Well, let's see, Sam Raimi can either do Evil Dead 4 or Spiderman 2....Hmmmm.. which one do you think he'll do?"

      2) Some jackass asked Bruce if he could call his friend who declined to come to the screening and tell him how he missed out. Said jackass handed his ce
    • If Campbell's autobiography "If Chins Could Kill" [barnesandnoble.com] is any indication, Bruce is very, very far from being a typical Hollywood actor. He comes off as honest, self-deprecating, and funny, and the tales he spins of his acting career make me glad I went into engineering.

      I watched "Army of Darkness" a few weeks ago with the commentary track turned on, listening Campbell and Sam Raimi rake it over. Even if "Bubba" bombs in the theaters, a DVD release backed by Campbell's commentary will be something to look for

  • Oh my... (Score:3, Funny)

    by MoeMoe ( 659154 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @12:55PM (#7137759)
    "If you see one ELVIS VS. MUMMY movie this year... This Is It!"

    I should hope so... Unless they have already finished recording "Bubba Ho-Tep 2: Return of the King"
  • Awesome flick (Score:2, Informative)

    by the darn ( 624240 )
    I was lucky enough to see it at the SXSW Film Festival here in Austin. A truly hilarious movie that puts mainstream pap to shame. At the same time, though, it's touching in its own way, due largely to the impressively-chinned-one's efforts. It's just sad that it's found such difficulty in finding distribution. It's coming back to the Alamo Drafthouse, where I hope to see it again before I have the chance to buy it on DVD.
  • Check out James Berardinelli's review at http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/. My favorite line: "Based on indisputable facts..." ! I can't wait to see this movie, but it'll probably never show in my home town. Time to take another trip...
  • Bruce Campbell story (Score:5, Interesting)

    by epiphany_man ( 576339 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @01:29PM (#7137913) Journal
    Bruce was at the small art house theatre across the street from my university yesterday taking questions after the movie. He was actually sitting in the audience during the showing, but I don't think anyone noticed. After he got up and started answering questions, someone around the area where he had sat asked him if he knew who owned a car with the license plate number "Oregon XXX-XXXX". Bruce, who was the owner of said car, immediately replied, "What my license number is is none of your business!", probably thinking the asker of the question a psycho stalker. The audience member then waved a driver's license in the air and Bruce was visibly surprised while the rest of the audience roared with laughter as Bruce apologized and even offered the guy a part in his next movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the Q & A session with Bruce. He was witty and sarcastic and did not shun from making jibes at audience members such as calling those who had bought the paperback edition of his book cheapskates. He also commented on how he didn't want to make "Legally Blonde"-type movies, and how many of the Hollywood-made films shown in airplanes just make him want to walk out.
    • many of the Hollywood-made films shown in airplanes just make him want to walk out.

      hah. That's genius right there.
    • Bruce, who was the owner of said car, immediately replied, "What my license number is is none of your business!", probably thinking the asker of the question a psycho stalker. The audience member then waved a driver's license in the air and Bruce was visibly surprised
      Ummmm ... I don't get it. Since when do they print your license plate number on your driver's license?
  • by LordOfYourPants ( 145342 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @01:36PM (#7137934)
    I'll be honest straight off: I think he's an OK actor, but I haven't seen anything about him that really excites me. He was funny in the Evil Dead movies and it's cool that he doesn't seem to be snobbish about his cult fame.

    On the other hand, I have two friends that are very much into him. These two friends are also very much into the character of Boba Fett who, again, seems like a very random character (esp. seeing as how he doesn't even have dialogue) to get excited about.

    So my question is this: What is it about Bruce Campbell that excites you? Why does he have such a hardcore following? I'm not saying it's *WRONG*, I just don't see the potential myself.
  • Official Rotten Tomatoes Rating Page [rottentomatoes.com]

    Currently, at time of posting, rated at 84% Fresh with 32 total reviews; of those, 27 fresh and 5 rotten.

    All reviews listed for Bubba Ho-Tep [rottentomatoes.com]

    I feel so much better after a good bit of whoring.
  • 31 02283 665? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by MrBlue VT ( 245806 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @01:42PM (#7137952) Homepage
    When you click on Bruce Campbell's right lens on his sunglasses it gives you the following number: 31 02283 665. What is it supposed to mean?
  • I'll assume it's a puzzle of some sort, but I'm too lazy to work for it.

    When you click on Elvis's right lens on the home page, you get a window with the following string:

    31 02283 665
  • The movie is selling out at the Angelika in downtown Manhattan. It's so hard being a hipster these days. Number of tattoos spotted on line: 95%, girls pierced through the cheek: 63%. Girls pierced through the cheek and tattooed, more then I can count. Don't come to New York, it's over priced, the women are nuts, and you're herb will cost you 3X what you would pay at home.

    She:
    "So hey, wanna hang out, do a hit or 2, and then get crazy?"

    Me:
    "NO, PHP 5.0 is coming out, I gotta hack.".

    The problems you have
  • by Jah-Wren Ryel ( 80510 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @02:17PM (#7138268)
    For those who don't know or are too young to know, Don Coscarelli is the man behind the Phantasm movies which are sadly lacking in DVD distribution (only the first and the fourth are out on disc). Phantasm is the story of the Tall Man who takes dead people, turns them into jawas and sends them to another dimension to work as slaves, he also has a flying silver ball that hunts down and then drills into his enemies' heads.

    Like all horror movies, there is no universal praise for the Phantasm movies. But they do tend rank up near the top of a lot of people's lists, including mine. Despite it's age (must be over 20 years now) Phantasm is still a genuinely creepy movie and totally worth seeing, even if all of the innovation has now been copied a thousand times in more recent horror flicks.
    • Like all horror movies, there is no universal praise for the Phantasm movies.
      Probably because only the first one is really any good. The others are sometimes entertaining -- number four excepted -- but hardly classics.

      And, lest we forget, he was also the man behind Beastmaster [imdb.com].

    • "Like all horror movies, there is no universal praise for the Phantasm movies. But they do tend rank up near the top of a lot of people's lists, including mine. Despite it's age (must be over 20 years now) Phantasm is still a genuinely creepy movie and totally worth seeing, even if all of the innovation has now been copied a thousand times in more recent horror flicks."

      Long live Reggie Bannister!

    • A couple weeks back, Terry Gross interviewed Coscarelli on Fresh Air [npr.org]. Lotta stuff about Bubba Hotep, and a lot of fascinating stuff about the technical aspects of making Phantasm on a very low budget. There's a segment on the sound effects of the skull driller. I'm not advocating any illegal copyright infringement, but that sound effect would make an excellent component of an answering machine message.
    • Words to live by. Or be undead dwarf slave zombies by.

  • by Savatte ( 111615 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @02:53PM (#7138487) Homepage Journal
    I saw Bruce Campbell last year at RIT. During his hilarious Q & A session, someone asked him if he ever turned down a role. Without breaking a sweat, he replied "I came here. I obvisouly don't give a shit about anything."

    He brought the house down
  • by ErikZ ( 55491 )
    So, how do you get to see this movie? What's an "Art House" film?
  • by BlackBolt ( 595616 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @03:48PM (#7138855) Homepage Journal
    When is Bruce Campbell going to get his own topic here? Zoom up to the top of this page, look at the icons they're using: "Movies", "It's funny. Laugh", "Entertainment", *AND* "Media". Bruce Campbell is too awesome to fit in any one topic, just like Beef flavored Cheezy Jello sticks don't fit into any one food group.

    What a waste of icons when one "BRUCE CAMPBELL IS GOD" icon would replace all these others!

    It's time to RISE UP AND DEMAND A BRUCE CAMPBELL TOPIC!
  • by EvilNight ( 11001 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @04:46PM (#7139237)
    Art House cinema is a term reserved for theaters that run their business by showing movies that are usually not in the mainstream, or foreign films. There are a hell of a lot of movies out there that people never even hear of (most of the best ones, sadly). The more successful Art House flicks sometimes end up taking a trip through the main cinema chain after having a smashing success on the art circuit (Spirited Away and My Big Fat Greek Wedding are two recent ones to do this). Bubba Ho-Tep looks to be on target to do the same thing, hopefully. Word of mouth like this article on slashdot are often the only things these movies have to recommend them.

    If you're getting sick of the majority of the mainstream hollywood fare, chances are you've been going to the wrong theater. Give a real theater a try for a change and see the difference. Most art house theaters are local affairs run by film lovers, and they differ greatly from commercial theaters. Typically they offer a lounge, bar, dinner, and live bands, as well as frequent film festivals and a variety of film clubs and club activities. They cater to people who love film as an art form and enjoy seeing films and discussing them with others.

    The most well known art house is probably The Alamo Drafthouse [drafthouse.com], mostly through their association with Harry Knowles from AICN.

    The art house in my area is The Little Theatre [little-theatre.com].

    The best way to find one of these in your area is to check the newspapers for the local movie listings. They need your support, so if you've got the option of seeing a film there please do so.
  • Unless this film comes out on VHS or DVD, I will have absolutely no chance of ever seeing it. :( It's unfortunate, because I've been waiting for over a year and a half for this film to be released - since I initially heard of it's conception. Campbell's acting is by far superior to most other stuff out there. Been waiting for a while for another film with him.

    Now they need to make Evil Dead 4. :) Somehow I think it would be better than Indy 4.
  • If only there was a service I could pay $15 for a download of the movie (~800 MB divx) off fast, reliable servers...

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