BY TODD GARBARINI
Send-ups
of classic horror films are nothing new. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello starred in
the granddaddy of horror comedies, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,
in 1948 after the original working script The Brain of Frankenstein had
its title changed. They later took on the Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde, and Boris Karloff himself. Mel Brooks danced his way into the cinema history
books by making his own comic version of the fabled Mary Shelley classic of a
deranged scientist fabricating a man made from body parts and even had the guts
to shoot the film in black and white on the original soundstages that James
Whale used just over forty years earlier: Young Frankenstein (1974) was
the result. The lesser-known Texas-lensed Student Bodies (1981) from
Woody Allen collaborator Mickey Rose did an admirable job of poking fun at the
slasher movie subgenre that plagued American movie theaters through most of the
early to mid-1980’s and is still humorous today, even after the Scary Movie
franchise.
I
was introduced to Elvira, Mistress of the Dark in September 1982 in Fangoria
Magazine (issue #22) from their “Horror-Host Series†by Dan Farren. Having begun
as a horror hostess in September 1981 on Southern California’s KHJ-TV’s Movie
Macabre weekend show, Elvira (in reality red-haired actress Cassandra
Peterson) slowly made her way into syndicated television markets and became a
huge sensation, turning verbally ragging on silly horror and science fiction B
movies into an art form. The schtick-laden show ran 137 episodes over five
years. Well-endowed with impossible-to-not-see cleavage, a huge mane of dark
hair and deep red lipstick, Elvira eventually starred in her own film, the 1988
outing Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. While many other Elvira outings
occurred in the form of short films and TV-movies, Ms. Petersen reprised her
role in Elvira’s Haunted Hills (2002), a loving parody of the Vincent
Price/Edgar Allan Poe/Roger Corman thrillers of the 1960’s that she and the
filmmakers saw in their youth.
It
is the year 1851 and the setting is the Romanian Carpathian Mountains. Elvira
and her maid Zou Zou (Mary Jo Smith) are forced out of their room by an
innkeeper who does his best Jack Torrance impression from The Shining to
rid the premises of these freeloaders. On their way to a can-can show they are
due to perform in Paris, they encounter Dr. Bradley Bradley (Scott Atkinson) –
no relation to Humbert Humbert – who invites them into his coach to stay the
night at Castle Hellsubus. Upon arrival, they meet Lady Emma Hellsubus (Mary
Scheer), Count Vladimere Hellsubus (Richard O’Brien) and Lady Roxana (Heather Hopper), Lady Emma and
Count Vladimere’s daughter.
It turns out that Elvira bears more than a striking resemblance to Count
Vladimere Hellsubus’s deceased wife, Elura (not to be confused with the capromorelin
oral solution indicated for the management of weight loss in cats with chronic
kidney disease of the same name. Whew!)
While
investigating the castle, Elvira stumbles into the room of Adrian (Gabi
Andronache in a role originally intended for Fabio who declined), a
deliberately poorly dubbed hunk with mismatched lips and dialog in a direct nod
to Italian horror films. Elvira gives the folks an example of her can-can show
and later Count Vladimere thinks Elura is alive after seeing her in the hallway
and blames it on a hallucination.
There
are several laugh out-loud moments, one involving an empty knight suit, a
throw-away line about the Village People, a visual zoom a la Jaws (1975),
and other modern-day film references. Even the Academy Awards aren’t
off-limits. The ageless Ms. Peterson is endearing in her Elvira get-up and
obviously the title is a comic play on her famous, always-on-display assets.
This is a film played for laughs and it is amusing and fun. The real stars,
however, are the beautiful and opulent sets fashioned by the Romanian crew modeled
primarily after The Pit and The Pendulum (1961) and The Haunted
Palace (1963). I was even reminded of Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s The
House That Screamed (1969). The beautiful lighting is also reminiscent of
cinematographer Luciano Tovoli’s colorful work on Dario Argento’s Suspiria
(1977) and Romano Albani’s lighting schemes in Suspiria’s follow-up, Inferno
(1980).
Elvira
does a fun song number and Richard O’Brien at times looks like Reggie Nalder as
Mr. Barlow in Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot (1979).
Elvira’s
Haunted Hills was
originally released on DVD in October 2002 and again in October 2011 in a
“Specially Enhanced Editionâ€. The bonus features are all ported over from the
previous DVD incarnations:
The
Blu-ray consists of a restoration from a 4K scan of the original camera
negative and it looks stunning in 1080p. The original DVDs did not grasp the
image so well and were often murky and dark. This transfer is bright, colorful
and clear and the sets look amazing.
There
is an introduction by Elvira, Mistress of The Dark which is comical and runs
4:40.
There
is an audio commentary with Cassandra Peterson, Mary Scheer, Mary Jo Smith and
Scott Atkinson, and Director Sam Irvin who all have terrific fun commenting on
the action and memories of filming on a shoestring.
Transylvania or Bust
Featurette – this cutely-titled High Definition piece from 2011 runs just over
28 minutes and includes Mary Jo Smith, Mary Scheer, Scott Atkinson and others discussing
their experiences not just making the film, but the misadventures entailed in
getting to the locations, which were more scary than what ends up in onscreen!
The Making of Elvira’s Haunted Hills is
Standard Definition, runs 22 minutes and features interviews with much of the
cast and crew, but best of all it contains behind-the-scenes footage shot
during principal photography.
Elvira in Romania
Featurette – this is a cute Standard Definition interview with a Romanian
television crew and Elvira
and runs about 46 minutes. There are also test shots and Elvira mingling with
locals.
Interview
with Co-Star Richard O’Brien
runs 6:08 and is an onscreen interview that was shot during filming.
Trailers – two trailers for Elvira’s Haunted
Hills
Outtakes – this runs 54 seconds and my only
complaint is I would have liked to have seen more of it.
Photo
Gallery
Newly
commissioned cover artwork
Highly
recommended for Elvira completists.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON