Overview: She’s back! Elvira, Horrorland’s hostess with the mostest, finally busts out on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with this long-awaited, positively bursting-at-the-seams special edition of her big screen debut, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark!

Having just quit her job as a Los Angeles TV horror hostess, Elvira receives the unexpected news that she’s set to inherit part of her great aunt Morgana’s estate. Arriving in the small town of Fallwell, Massachusetts to claim her inheritance, Elvira receives a less than enthusiastic reception from the conservative locals – amongst them, her sinister uncle Vincent, who, unbeknownst to Elvira, is in fact an evil warlock secretly scheming to steal the old family spellbook for his own nefarious ends!

Campy, quirky and stuffed to the brim with more double entendres than your average Carry On movie, 1988’s Elvira: Mistress of the Dark helped solidify the horror hostess (played by Cassandra Peterson) as a major pop culture icon, here owning every inch of the screen with her quick wit, sass, and of course, cleaving-enhancing gown!

4K Blu-ray Verdict: The magnetism radiated from Elvira, drawing her legions of devoted admirers, has a primordial quality. With her lengthy, well-toned figure, large-bust, innocuously mischievous attitude and grab-bag lexicon of me-generation valley slang, the character of Elvira has a universal and timeless appeal.

As an aspiring folklorist and an individual deeply interested in the structure of storytelling, it is evident that the Elvira persona has certain archetypal elements that help to make the character more than the sum of her corny one-liners and large chest.

As initiated from the manner in which the children of the town react to her, she represents the deep adolescent fantasy for an experienced woman whom can connect to them of their level: a strange mixture of one-dimensional romantic yearning, boyish sexual craving and the desire for non-threateningly lighthearted fun. She symbolizes an undeveloped ideal of womanhood perfected for the boys and a source of strength for the girls of the town. The other adults have trouble with her for the same reasons.

It’s surprising how a script rigged together with boob-jokes, witty one-liners, movie references, inside jokes and bade taste merriment also manages to tell a coherent story. Simple, of course, but coherent. While other movies, heavily relying on gag-like situations, often make you lose track of the story completely (like the Naked Gun films, for example), but this film doesn’t.

A lot of horror-comedies were being produced during the 80’s, but not a lot of them actually worked. Let alone a horror-spoof that doesn’t derail at some point (for example, Killer Party, although I’m grateful for this one going completely bonkers during the finale) or becomes too tedious too quickly (Saturday the 14th).

Although Elvira is more comedy than horror, it doesn’t lose track of what it’s doing and consistently builds up towards a mildly grotesque finale, complete with a supernatural showdown in the streets of Falwell between newborn witch Elvira and evil uncle wizard Talbot, including a real honest-to-god witch hunt and Elvira’s very own burn-at-the-stake moment!

In the end, however, her film cannot move past its more campy ingredients, which is ok. The end result is that while Elvira is infinitely interesting, her film is limited by how weak a showcase it is for her enormous talents. Nearly everything is tailored to an adolescent mindset and although it is a straightforward comedy, only those who can still process information with the mind of a young person will be able to enjoy the nonsense. Fortunately, I have such ability and found the film to be an absolute delightful charmer.

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films
4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original uncompressed stereo 2.0 audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Introduction to the film by director James Signorelli
2017 audio commentary with director James Signorelli, hosted by Fangoria editor emeritus Tony Timpone
2017 audio commentary with Patterson Lundquist, www.elviramistressofthedark.com webmaster and judge of US TV show The Search for the Next Elvira
Archival audio commentary with actors Cassandra Peterson and Edie McClurg and writer John Paragon Too Macabre – The Making of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark – 2018 version of this feature-length documentary on the making of the film, including interviews with various cast and crew and archival material
Recipe for Terror: The Creation of the Pot Monster – 2018 version of this featurette on the concept and design of the pot monster, as well as the film’s other SFX
Original storyboards
Extensive image galleries
Original US theatrical and teaser trailers
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Sam Irving, Kat Ellinger and Patterson Lundquist

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