Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988)

When her Great Aunt dies, famed horror hostess Elvira heads for the uptight New England town of Falwell to claim her inheritance of a haunted house, a witch's cookbook and a punk rock ... See full summary »

Director:

James Signorelli

Writers:

Sam Egan, John Paragon,

Stars:

Phil Rubenstein, Larry Flash Jenkins, Cassandra Peterson

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Phil Rubenstein	...	Director
Larry Flash Jenkins	...	Technical Director
Cassandra Peterson	...	Elvira (as Elvira)
Damita Jo Freeman	...	Associate Producer
Tress MacNeille	...	Anchorwoman
Edwina Moore	...	Hairdresser
Mario Celario	...	Rudy
Lee McLaughlin	...	Earl Hooter
Bill Swearingen	...	Cameraman
Charles Woolf	...	Manny
Bill Dance	...	Messenger (as William Dance)
William Cort	...	Lawyer / Game Show Host
Sharon Hays	...	Game Show Girl
Bill Cable	...	Cop
John Paragon	...	Gas Station Attendant

Storyline

When her Great Aunt dies, famed horror hostess Elvira heads for the uptight New England town of Falwell to claim her inheritance of a haunted house, a witch's cookbook and a punk rock poodle. But once the stuffy locals get an eyeful of the scream queen's ample assets, all hell busts out and breaks loose. Can the Madonna Of The Macabre find love with a studly cinema owner, avoid her creepy Great Uncle, titillate the town's teens and become a Las Vegas dance sensation all without being burned alive at the stake?

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Plot Keywords:

hostess | inheritance | spell book | fire | witchcraft | 

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Taglines:

Elvira makes her Big Screem Debut in her Hot New Comedy.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

Elvira's Official haunting ground on the Web.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Elvira

Filming Locations:

637 S Lucerne Blvd, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$5,596,267 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

NBC Productions, New World Pictures, Panacea Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 1988, Marvel released a magazine-sized comic book adaptation of the film.

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Goofs

Flipped shot: When her great uncle first appears in her house, the poodle growls and snarls. Originally, the poodle has a black fluffy left ear and an earring in the right. These switch over during the growl, and switch back again when the camera pans back.

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Quotes

Lesley Meeker: We do have a room. Remember the trucker with the bad skin checked out yesterday?
Elvira: I hope you changed the sheets.

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Connections

Referenced in Elvira's Movie Macabre: The Brain That Wouldn't Die (2010)

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Soundtracks

"New World Symphony"
Written by Antonín Dvorák (as Antonin Dvorak)
Performed by Pro Musica Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Hans-Jürgen Walther (as Hans-Jurgen Walther)

User Reviews

My hearts on fire for 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!