It’s one of the strangest movies of all time, and now we get to see how it all began. Bubba Ho-Tep, the wacky romp about a modern day Elvis Presley fighting a dangerous mummy with the help of an African-American JFK, is getting a prequel — but you won’t be catching it in movie theaters.
The prequel comes in the form of a new book, Bubba and the Cosmic Blood-Suckers, which is just about the best title I’ve ever seen. The novel was written by Joe R. Landsdale, who also wrote the original Bubba Ho-Tep novella on which the film was based. The new book sees the King as a member of an elite secret government task force who must combat an invasion of inter-dimensional shape-shifting vampires. If that doesn’t sound awesome enough for you, then read through the full synopsis below and prepare to have your mind blown:
“Part of a secret government organization designed to protect civilians, Elvis Presley and a handful of hardcore warriors set out to save the world from an invasion of hive-minded, shape-shifting vampire-like creatures from a dark dimension who have taken up residence in a New Orleans junkyard. Besides Elvis, among these righteous warriors is a hammer-wielding descendent of John Henry of railroad fame, a Blind Man who sees more than those with sight, Jack, a strategic wizard, and Elvis’s right hand man and journal writer, Johnny, all thrown in with Raven (real name Jenny) a female recruit who is also a budding pop star, and like Elvis, high on the charisma chart. Their leader is none other than Colonel Parker, Elvis’s cutthroat manager, and a warrior himself, directly in contact with President Nixon, or possibly one of his doubles.
It’s an unnerving peek into a secret world, and a possible delusion. It’s what happened before Elvis, aka Sebastian Haff, found himself in an East Texas rest home, mounted on a walker, fighting an Egyptian mummy and worrying about a growth on his pecker. Strange monsters, wild fights, sex with a beautiful ghost, a drug-induced trip into another dimension, and all manner of mayhem ensue, along with a Mississippi riverboat ride on a giant paddle wheel, and of course, there will be 3D glasses, fried peanut butter and ’nanna sandwiches, and a few hard working zombies. Bring the kids, but plug their ears and blindfold them. This is one wild and nasty ride to the dark side, but with laughter.”
The book is published by Subterranean Press, and signed copies are currently available for pre-order on the company’s website. With attempts at a movie sequel having stalled years ago, here’s hoping that this new book will jumpstart the process and get the ball rolling again on a new film adaptation. I mean, who doesn’t want to see Bruce Campbell return as Elvis and battle some alien vampires?
