Elvira: Mistress of the Dark
The horror-movie hostess turns a puritanical community on its ear when she arrives in town to claim her inheritance.
Cassandra Peterson stars as Elvira in this delightfully campy horror movie directed by James Signorelli. However, this isn’t the first time she plays the character. The movie only happened because of her previous role in Elvira’s Movie Macabre. Cassandra’s popularity in the role is what led to the movie. Unlike some of the others on the list, it’s not that scary. It has its moments but it focuses more on campiness and comedy.
The story revolves around Elvira inheriting a house in a small town community. Unfortunately for her, the community are stuck-up and prudish. Elvira’s choice of revealing clothing causes issues with her neighbors. Meanwhile, her uncle threatens to kill her if she doesn’t give him a spellbook. This spellbook will help him take over the world.
With the help of the town’s teenagers, she sets out to stop her uncle. In order to do so, she also needs to turn the opinion of the townspeople in her favor.
Out of the five campy horror movies on my list, this is by far the campest. Cassandra Peterson’s returned as Elvira several times over the years. If you enjoy this movie, you should check out her other appearances. One of these includes voicing Elvira in the Scooby Doo animation Return to Zombie Island.
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is a fun romp that provides more laughs than scares. However, don’t let that stop you from watching it. After all, sometimes a fun horror is what you need.
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