Elvira's Haunted Hills (2002)

Elvira is an enduring character, bringing both a sense of camp and sexiness to b-movie viewing.  In the 1980s she became quite famous for her striking appearance as well as her witty, double-entendre-laden hosting of scary movies.  Though originally a regional sensation she eventually earned a nationwide audience, leading to a feature film of her own with 1988's Elvira: Mistress of the Dark.

The problem was, even though that movie has become a cult favorite, Mistress of the Dark came out as New World Pictures went into bankruptcy.  It got little promotion, critics weren't kind and no one seemed to understand the limited appeal she had outside her fanbase, other than as a sex symbol.  While Elvira is definitely a fun, campy character, she is just that: a character, played by actress and comedian Cassandra Peterson.  The movie struck the right chord with those who enjoy her schtick, but it failed to become a big hit until released on video.  That meant there was little effort to make a second Elvira film other than from Peterson, her then-husband Mark Pierson and her writing partner John Paragon.  After years of trying to get major studios interested they just decided to make the movie themselves.

Elvira and her servant Zou Zou (Mary Jo Smith) are on their way to Paris in 1851 where our Mistress of the Dark is to star in Yes, I Can-Can at a famous cabaret.  However, they are stuck in the Carpathian Mountains without a coin to their name.  Their fortunes seem to look up when they are given a coach ride by Dr. Bradley Bradley (Scott Atkinson), who takes them for a brief stay at Castle Hellsubus. 

The thing is, Elvira happens to be the spitting image of the late wife of Lord Vladimere Hellsabus (Richard O'Brien), a noble confined to his estate due to a family curse that has given him a sensitivity to light and loud sounds.  His current wife Lady Ema (Mary Scheer) is shocked at the resemblance, but not as much as the Lord, who thinks that his former wife has come back for revenge.  It turns out that there is quite a lot going on at the castle, but Elvira's attention is mainly drawn to the studly stable boy Adrien (Gabi Andronache).

Elvira's Haunted Hills is not meant as a sequel to Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, but rather a parody of the Roger Corman films based on Edgar Allen Poe.  A good portion of the plot is lifted from The Fall of the House of Usher, the set design is straight out of The Haunted Palace and other plot elements from The Tomb of Ligeia as well as The Terror are used, with a bit of The Pit and the Pendulum for a finish.  Throughout it all Elvira talks like it's still the 1980s and shows off some of her famous outfits, while Richard O'Brien chews the scenery and Scott Atkinson does an imitation of actor George Sanders, as his attempts at doing Vincent Price reportedly didn't work out too well. 

Being as these types of films were the bread and butter of Elvira's Movie Macabre and countless other local creature feature shows this should have been much better than it is.  Despite being familiar with her in her heyday and appreciating the character, Elvira outside of pin-ups has always been an acquired taste.  Peterson, in and out of the Elvira costume, is quite striking, and was even at the time this movie was made.  The actual Elvira personality, though, has never entertained me the way it does others.  Part of the problem is that there are too many jokes that just fall flat, including a joke about a chamber pot that is right out of an Austin Powers or Farrelly Brothers movie. 

The other problem is that, despite their efforts Peterson, co-writer John Paragon and director Sam Irvin all seem to have had an idea of what to do but failed to execute it.  This is a shame because Elvira: Mistress of the Dark was quite fun and had a bunch of clever jokes.  I was almost expecting them to replay the "big knockers" gag from Young Frankenstein, as it was obvious they were hoping this would have the same type of staying power.  

Unfortunately, despite a few amusing moments - the dubbing on Gabi Andronache, for example - there are too many moments in here that remind me of why I have rarely liked a comedy movie since the early 1990s.  At some point everyone, including some of the old masters of comedy, forgot how to be funny, and just started resorting to jokes about eating sewage.  

Elvira's Haunted Hills (2002)

Time: 90 minutes

Starring: Cassandra Peterson, Mary Jo Smith, Scott Adkinson, Richard O'Brien, Mary Scheer

Director: Sam Irvin