Elvira: Mistress of the Dark

"Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark" is a sort of "Harper Valley P.T.A." with touches of the supernatural. Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) walks off her job as television horror movie hostess after the new station's owner gets fresh with her. She's now relying on a Las Vegas show to carry her through, but learns she needs to come up with more money to get the show started. Things look hopeless to raise that money until she receives notice of her aunt's death, which then takes Elvira to Massachusetts for the reading of the will. A house in need of repairs, a dog, and a cookbook are all that is left to her by her aunt, and again it seems Elvira is having trouble coming up with the money for the Las Vegas show. The adults of the small and narrow minded town make things worse by making things more difficult for Elvira. Only the local hunk (Daniel Greene), and a group of teenagers will befriend her. Elvira's Uncle "Vinnie" (W. Morgan Sheppard), presses to make a deal with Elvira for the cookbook, but Elvira soon learns of her powerful heritage that includes spellcasting, and a couple very effective casseroles. Elvira no longer wants to sell the cookbook to her uncle, but he is determined to get his hands on it knowing of its power. Elvira then faces being burned at the stake on the town's old charge of witchcraft, and the showdown between her and her uncle. The plot is pretty simple, but the humor and well developed characters keep it moving at a nice pace. "Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark" is full of cute, gross, bawdy, and clever humor carried through by the many sight gags, puns, props, songs, and parodies. The film's touches of the occult make this one of the best horror parodies ever made. It is a well made film with terrific acting by all performers; including Edie McClurg, and Jeff Conaway (of "Grease.") There are also nice special effects. Many people (including myself) wondered if the Elvira character could carry a feature film, and the answer is delightfully, YES!

I highly recommend this movie. The movie is funny, entertaining and well, it's something only Elvira can deliver!!! Edie McClurgh (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) is great as Chastity Pariah. The movie is chock-full of hilarious sexual innuendo (56 boob jokes!) and visual slap-stick gags. Elvira's dream is to perform in Las Vegas, but to do that she needs 50,000$. She heads the the Puritanical town of Falwell to pick up her great aunt Morgana Talbot's inheritance....a measley book. But the book holds the secrets of the magic, plunging Elvira into a battle of metaphysical proportions! I cannot recommend this movie enough!!!! It's corny, it's campy, but that's Elvira.

Any movie that starts off with the epic closing scene from "It Conquered The World" is going to be a great movie! Essentially a movie of one Elvira routine after another, playing off of an uptight town of puritans, siding with the kids who just want to have a good time and see Elvira ham it up to schlocky old movies at their local theater. If you like Elvira's style of comedy, this is the movie for you. No pun is left unacknowledged, no breast reference unaccompanied by a stare down at "the twins". Low-brow, silly and schlocky, just like the movies she hosts and celebrates. Edie McClurg is here in her perennial role as uptight busybody, she seems typecast as this in every movie she does, but this has become her image and she is marvelous at it. Great Halloween party movie, would go well with a few B Horror Movies from the 1950s. Recommended!

I don't doubt that the critics panned this movie, especially the artsy fartsys who need a laxative. This is a great vehicle movie in the tradition of Abbot & Costello or more recently Don Knotts. It won't shake the world or change movies forever. What it will do is entertain. When all is said & done that's the most important thing anyway. Watch this movie & forget your troubles. It even has a simple & kind moral message at no extra charge. I always loved Elvira's TV show when I lived in LA. She did not really steal her schtick from Vampira any more than Vampira did from the original, Theda Bara. This sort of mythic character belongs to whoever does it best; & Cassandra Peterson does it best. Long live Elvira; we need more of these kind of movies. There are never enough. The villain, William Morgan Sheppard, was also excellent. He exudes a wonderful refined malice. I could find no technical faults. The execution is as close to flawless as the art form gets. My profound compliments to the director,James Signorelli,& all his crew.

When a chauvinist millionaire buys the TV network where the sexy Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) is the horror hostess of a late show, she quits her job with the intention of producing a show of her own in Las Vegas. However the producers demand 50 thousand dollars from her and Elvira does not have the money. Out of the blue, she receives a telegram informing that her great aunt Morgana died and she has an inheritance to receive. Elvira drives to Fallwell, in Massachusets, where her car breaks. While repairing the car, Elvira inherits an old house, a recipe book and a poodle. Her great uncle Vincent Talbot (W. Morgan Sheppard) proposes to buy her book, but the poodle hides it in the sofa. Meanwhile the conservative council of Fallwell feels uncomfortable with Elvira's clothes and behavior and does not let her find a job. But the cinema owner Bob Redding (Daniel Greene) and the local teenagers help Elvira. When she decides to cook a dinner to impress Bob, she uses Morgana's recipe and finds that it is indeed a spell book that belonged to her mother Divana. Further, Morgana has protected her from the warlock Vincent that wants the book to take over the world and destroy Elvira, who is a powerful witch. When Elvira refuses to sell the spell book to Vincent, her convinces the council that she is a witch that must be burned at the stake. How will Elvira stop the evil Vincent?

"Elvira: Mistress of the Dark" is a funny cult-trash that works for the fans. This cheesy film is hilarious despite all the silliness and the sexy Cassandra Peterson is the responsible for making it worthwhile watching. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Elvira: A Rainha das Trevas" ("Elvira: The Queen of the Darkness")