Elvira's MTV Halloween Party

ELVIRA'S MTV HALLOWEEN PARTY from 1984 has happily survived the years, uploaded by more than one source for YouTube viewers, its main section a special presentation of George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" interspersed with Cassandra Peterson's usual sparkling repartee. Her fame quickly grew from the inception when Los Angeles station KHJ-TV decided to revive its late night horror movie in 1981 with a new character in place of Larry Vincent's 'Seymour,' Cassandra's knockout looks, heavy pancake makeup, jet black beehive wig, and ample cleavage earning a rise in greater viewership with her already expert comic timing. This evening also featured her appearance on ABC's THE FALL GUY, opposite special guest star John Carradine, present here as well: "as a special Halloween treat we've taken our MTV cameras to the home of that grand master of the macabre, John Carradine...Mr. Carradine gives us the tender story of 'The Loneliest Pumpkin.'" This reading finds Jack O'Lantern's inglorious existence brightened by a little girl who takes him home, only to be cut up and transformed into a prize winning exhibit! (the story lasts for just under two minutes). Carradine returns to rhapsodize about our buxom host in delightful fashion: "Elvira is to Halloween what the turkey is to Thanksgiving, what the ham is to Easter..." Elvira: "what about the Christmas goose?" "oh, I forgot about the Christmas goose!" (he announces with the expected result!). Short intros feature celebrities like Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh, Laraine Newman, Richard 'Cheech' Marin, Nazz's Todd Rundgren, and frequent visits from Elvira's partner in crime 'The Breather' (John Paragon), who had previously appeared with Carradine in a one off NBC broadcast from June 2, WELCOME TO THE FUN ZONE (we're also treated to trailers for "The Brain Eaters," "The Wild Women of Wongo," and "I Was a Teenage Werewolf"). Elvira fans will rejoice at the wealth of material, while Carradine comrades can continue to savor his every moment on screen.

Elvira's MTV Halloween Party (1984)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The great thing about Youtube and various other services is that it allows you to revisit things that might have happened long before you were able to see them. This MTV Special features Elvira basically hosting a bunch of music videos as well as other Halloween treats. You can currently view a version on Youtube that has the music videos cut out for legal reasons but it's presented in a way that you can watch this and know what videos you need so you can go view them and not miss a thing.

There's quite a bit of activity going on here outside just the music videos. John Carradine reads a Halloween story. You've got trailers for THE BRAIN EATERS and THE WILD WOMEN OF WONGO. There's a DEVO-ween announcement as well as Cheech Marin and Todd Rundgren showing up. You've got Elvira playing off Michael Jackson's Thriller video. There's even a spoof of ANNIE.

Honestly, there's really nothing overly special or ground-breaking here but if you're a fan of Elvira or just want to revisit what MTV did back in the day then you should at least find this mildly amusing. For the most part Elvira is good in what she's doing, although there's no question that her full personality wasn't developed yet.