2002, USA
Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Mystery
Only the man who asked us to "Hail to the king, baby" in Army of Darkness could truly portray the rock n' roll bejeweled king in this tale of a nursing home nightmare. Bruce Campbell does his best to lend an air of importance to the frazzled soul of Elvis, rotting away in a retirement home and trying to convince his housemates that he is the real deal.
Beastmaster and Phantasm ringmaster Don Coscarelli punches up his usual horror movie fare with a good comedic kick in the head. Campbell shines with every cocky snarl and quip, and Ossie Davis brings on the laughs so dryly one can hear the grit against the grain. Davis portrays a "dyed" John F. Kennedy, living out his remaining days with a sack of sand where a piece of his noggin once lay. Together they form a crack Scooby-Doo twosome, attempting to hunt the creature that's sucking the withered souls of their fellow senile co-eds.
In this toast to B-movies, reluctance is dashed for dignity, cheap thrills are tossed for suspense, and unintentional chuckles are thrown out the window to make way for all-out, balls-out humor. Joe Lansdale's story proves tasty fodder for actors who know how to chew properly.
A hefty helping of DVD extras includes a behind-the-scenes booklet, commentary by the director and Campbell, amusing commentary by the king himself, a thick-drawled reading by Landsdale from the original short story (proving how close the movie stuck to this graphic tale), deleted scenes with commentary (providing the easy argument that two narrators can be too muddled), a making-of feature and featurettes on costumes and music, a photo montage, a music video, and trailers.
More delicious than a toasted peanut butter and banana sandwich.