Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988)

Upon arriving in a small town where she has inherited a rundown mansion, a famous horror hostess battles an evil uncle, and townspeople who want her burned at the stake.

Director:

James Signorelli

Writers:

Sam Egan, John Paragon

Stars:

Cassandra Peterson, Phil Rubenstein, Larry Flash Jenkins

1 win & 4 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 a chauvinist millionaire buys the television network where the sexy Elvira is the horror hostess of a late show, she quits her job with the intention of producing her own show 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 the uptight town of Fallwell, Massachusetts, where her convertible breaks down. While repairing her convertible, Elvira inherits an archaic mansion, a recipe book and a poodle. Her great-uncle Vincent Talbot 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 cinema owner Bob Redding 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...

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Plot Keywords:

inheritance | hostess | black comedy | small town | magic | 

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Taglines:

Here's something you'll want to pick up!

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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:

Higgins-Verbeck-Hirsch Mansion - 637 South Lucerne Boulevard, Windsor Square, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$5,596,267

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 real life, Cassandra Peterson (Elvira) began her career as a Las Vegas showgirl, a career her character also pursues.

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Goofs

Elvira's car's front tag says KICKASS and the back tag says 2MACABRE. While illegal in any state that requires both tags be displayed, this isn't a goof.

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Quotes

Bob Redding: I run the movie house.
Elvira: Oh, really? I'm in movies too! Have you ever shown, uh, "I Married Satan"?
Bob Redding: No...
Elvira: How about the sequel, "I Married Satan 2"?
Bob Redding: I, ah... I can only play G-rated movies.
Elvira: Oh well, there's nothing wrong with G-rated movies, as long as there's lots of sex and violence.

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Alternate Versions

The widescreen version is actually the regular full screen version but with the top and bottom blacked out. This is proven in the scene were the teenagers are watching Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! at the theater. For the scene were a woman with a shopping cart is running from an oversized tomato, the board with rollers the tomato is sitting on is cut off. As is the shot of Elvira's Elvis T-shirt when she suddenly sits-up from her nightmare. This is because the movie was shot in full screen, and matted for theaters. The extra space in the full screen version is dead space that was never meant to be seen.

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Connections

Referenced in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: The Wasp Woman (2015)

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Soundtracks

Maniac
Written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky
Performed by Rick Cershaw

User Reviews

Elvira is Hilaroius!

OK, this movie is stupid. I mean that in a good way though.It was stupid on purpose, and was one of the better "stupid" movies I've seen. The jokes and gags are purposefully bad, but delivered in a way that it struck all the right notes with me. The supporting characters were pretty shallow and mediocre. There is a pretty weak plot, but it works just fine.

Elvira's character is the focus here.She is lovable and adorable.Cassandra Petersen has a world of acting talent that just glows in this movie.On top of that acting talent she had physical attributes which were frankly, stunning. Few men could disagree with that. The parts that show off her figure were also some of the funnier scenes in the movie.

I had a smile ear to ear from the first scene to the last.

Highly recommended to fans of comedy, and to fans of beautiful women. I wish they had made a dozen more Elvia movies.