Upon arriving in a small town where she has inherited a rundown mansion, a famous horror hostess battles an evil uncle and townspeople who want her burned at the stake.
So, I’m stepping into this film with literally zero knowledge of the personality that Elvira is. I was unaware that she hosted a weekend horror show in the late eighties. I did not know about her trademark low cut dress, goth makeup, and hair-metal mullet look. I completely skipped the part in my film education where she blew up around the US with her special appeal and her image was plastered everywhere. I mean, I have seen this character before but I did not make the connection until she appeared on my TV screen like magic. “Elvira: Mistress of the Dark” operates on a special wavelength, channeling family-friendly monster/horror vibes à la “The Addams Family” and “Dark Shadows” while also cracking a plethora of adult jokes lampooning the horror genre in its own special way.
When I first started this movie all I could think was “this is exactly like Weird Al Yankovic’s ‘UHF.’” That thought, while not entirely inaccurate, fails to encompass what the Elvira act really is. The movie follows the character, Elvira (Cassandra Peterson), as she quits her TV show to get her special act in Las Vegas off the ground. When a mysterious aunt dies she visits a small town in New Hampshire to inherit a creepy mansion. She must battle an evil uncle and town of people who want to burn her at the stake while finding the cash to fun her dream Las Vegas show.
The joyous thing about Elvira is her blatant disregard for both censorship and traditional values. Elvira’s a proud outsider to this little community introducing a little valley girl speech and glam rock to an otherwise humdrum locale. Naturally, the authority figures (who apparently are all over the age of seventy) chafe against her free expression and deep cleavage. She champions the youth in the town, even the perverted boys. The constant jokes she whips out adds to the comedic tone of the movie, albeit one that knows its horror and B budget movies.
What the movie does so successfully is swap genres as it lampoons famous movies. It bounces from cinematic reference in single breaths jumping from “Animal House” to “The Wizard of Oz” near-perfectly. While this initially distracts and serves as more circus than drama it transitions perfectly into a horror-centric drama. It delves straight into the central plot after a little back and forth joking and delivers on a grand finale even Stephen King might smirk upon.
Unfortunately, the comedic tone of this movie serves as an excuse to flagrantly display Elvira at the audience’s leisure. I want to talk about how insanely male-centric the gaze of this camera is as it sweeps back and forth across Elvira’s exposed legs and thighs. It goes significantly out of its way to spotlight her in compromising situations (her on all fours, her stretched out, her undressing.) Her costume displays an inordinate amount of cleavage (the costume was designed by actress Cassandra Peterson) but that’s the way it’s designed. We, as an audience, might grow accustomed to the display if the camera didn’t go out of its way to show off her chest. You know that line about how women say their eyes are up here? I feel like the entirety of this movie is the camera staring right at Elvira’s chest, but instead of her annoyance she simply enjoys the exposure. It’s sexually freewheeling and I want to frown on such an overwrought line (especially when it becomes a crutch after a while) but this element of showing skin is core to B movies and horror movies themselves and in so doing it seems to honor the tradition within the movies it loves so dearly. Plus, Elvira probably aired late on a Saturday night which we all know has more relaxed censors.
The whole thing exists within the macrocosm of the ’80s. While I never grew up appreciating this late-night horror movie host, I can certainly see the appeal. For any young boy tuning in late, a sexy vampire punk rocker introducing a movie can certainly make for an exciting prelude to the horror movie genre. Instead of pointing out its flaws, I’m choosing to subside within the freedom of expression Elvira represents. She is free to do as she pleases and if you don’t like it then too bad for you.
Available on a Special Edition Blu-ray April 28th from Arrow Video
One of my favorite \”camp\” movies of all time. Plus having Elvira as the host and star brings back some favorite set dreams. Sometimes old is better. Great movie to see at a drive in. Thanks