HKC examines the current face of Cult Film and passes potential prospects onto you!

Episode 2:  Elvis vs. the Mummy, Seduction of the Innocent, Trippy Cartoons.....

(2003 Sillver Sphere Pictures, available on MGM DVD Director: Don Coscarelli Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce

Incredibly witty , Bubba Ho-Tep tells the ridiculous sounding story of a 70 year old Elvis (portrayed by Bruce Campbell) who teams up with his best friend, an elderly gentleman named "Jack" (Ossie Davis) who believes he's JFK (!) to battle a 4000 year old soul stealing mummy in a Texas rest-home. Based on a short story by novelist Joe R. Lansdale, Ho-Tep takes it's far-fetched premise and runs with it, and through incredible performances by the principle actors, not only is the end result a fun romp of a horror comedy, it's a touching story examining the indignity and disrespect that the youth of our culture show towards it's elders.  Highly acclaimed on the festival circuit last year, it's good to see MGM give this nice little flick a decent DVD treatment

(2002 Lions Gate Films, available on Lions Gate DVD Director:  James Robinson Starring:  Donal Logue, Micheal Rapaport, DJ Qualls, Cary Elwes

Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of funny books......and some of these people are willing to kill for them.  Written and directed by comics fan favorite James Robinson (who, in the comics field is probably best remembered for his excellent Starman series for DC, and would later go on to serve as the screen writer for 20th Century Fox's big budget comic book adaptation, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), it takes the typical film noir settings and cliches, places them firmly tongue and cheek into the weird world of comic book fandom, with mixed results.  Alot of people I've talked to about Comic Book Villians have one major complaint: the film tends to downgrade the audience it hopes to identify the most with: comic book fans.  But, nonetheless, it's a funny, dark comedy look at obsession and the lengths some will go to to satisfy their compulsions......

(2001 Fox Searchlight Pictures, available on Fox Home Video DVD) Director: Richard Linklater Starring:  Wiley Wiggins Absolutely brilliant.   It's the only way I can describe Waking Life. The film itself plays like a trippy follow-up to director Linklater's debut film, Slacker (the Texas director is also responsible for Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise, The Newton Boys, the recent Jack Black comedy School of Rock, and my personal favorite: subUrbia), an hour and a half rant on  philosophy, presented in an odd, yet incredibly visually engaging animation style that blends a new computer process with traditional rotoscope techniques.  Definately a head trip. Wiley Wiggins portrays a young man who seems to be trapped in an amazing dreamscape, wandering through it and interacting with several of it's strange inhabitants (which includes cameos by the director himself), all the while looking for a way back to the "real" world....the Waking world.  Heady, without being too high-browed,  must be seen to fully be comphrehended.