PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I had the pleasure of meeting Elvira, aka Cassandra Peterson in 2010. I waited in line at Canada’s Fan Expo where she was a guest, signing autographs and posing for photos with fans. I had something special with me: the sleeve of an old VHS tape I had possessed through the entirety of my 27 years. The sleeve belonged to the iconic, underground, campy, silly, fun-as-hell movie Elvira: Mistress of the Dark.
I don’t know where it came from. My parents certainly are not the goth-loving weirdo I am. Maybe the VHS had suddenly materialized in my home upon my birth, who knows? I’m so glad I owned it though. I said ‘Hello, how are you?’ to Elvira, and handed her the sleeve. With eyes as big and vibrant as the moon, and harijuku-style makeup to match, she beamed up at me and laughed ‘Wow! This is a relic!’
It certainly was.
Long story short, I’ve loved Elvira, I love her now, and will always. It might be the big hair, the exposed dagger, the tough talk, but really I think it’s the heart I see shining through in everything she does. Elvira was not the scary ghouly-ghoul she appeared as, but a charismatic woman who loved making jokes about her boobs. Elvira only judged those lame enough to not like her or the B movies she hosted.
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark was released on September 30th, 1988. Pophorror has every intention of celebrating it appropriately. A graduate of the comedic improv troupe The Groundlings, Cassandra Peterson created the Elvira character after being offered the position of host for a television horror host on a show called Macabre (later, Elvira’s Movie Macabre). Elvira took over for Maila Nurmi, aka the legendary Vampira. Later on, Nurmi would often accuse Peterson of drawing a little too much inspiration from Vampira, for her Elvira character, but Peterson would claim “Elvira and Vampira are nothing alike’. Elvira is much more loudmouthed, upfront, and silly than Vampira ever was, although, in my opinion, the two characters are that of Hollywood horror legend and I love them both equally.
After years of hosting Elvira’s Movie Macabre, Peterson was approached to do a big-screen flick, which absolutely elated her. A good friend, and fellow Groundlings alumni, Paul Reubens, aka Pee-Wee Herman had just wrapped his first movie, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, in which Peterson had a bit part. Peterson was so impressed with director Tim Burton’s skills that she insisted he direct Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, however, Burton was tied up filming Beetlejuice at the time.
Enlisted was James Signorelli who had written for Saturday Night Live for a number of years and also directed the 1983 comedy Easy Money, among other films and TV specials. Elvira insisted on many things and got her way, For instance, Elvira’s dog in the film, Gonk, had to have his fur colored with vegetable coloring every day because Peterson was so against using real, and more permanent dye on him. Many of Elvira’s family and friends had roles in the film.
Chastity Pariah, the town busybody and outright pain in the ass, was played by Edie McLure (Carrie 1976) who was a Groundlings alumni, a gas station attendant, an overly handsy hitchhiker played by the well-loved drag star Joey Arias, and more were all played by friends. Cassandra Peterson’s parents are even extras in Elvira: Mistress of the Dark.
The movie is set in conservative Fallwell, Massachusetts, and this name was chosen due to prominent Christian conservative and moral majority leader, Jerry Falwell. Peterson herself has stated that even though Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is quite silly, campy, and fun, there is definitely an underlying message: Don’t judge a book by its cover. Often the ones who do, are the problem themselves. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark spawned a 2001 sequel, Elvira’s Haunted Hills.
A Brief Synopsis
Tired of grabby, jerk bosses, and a fraction of the spotlight she deserves, small-time performer Elvira is given the go-ahead to create and perform her own Las Vegas review, a dream she has always had. However, there is a snag. Elvira must come up with $10,000 to fund it. As luck would have it, Elvira’s great aunt Morganna (a distant relative of course) has just tragically passed. Elvira receives notice she is set to inherit part of her rich aunt’s estate. Elvira pops into her black convertible, blasting metal music all the way to her great aunt’s last resting place, Falwell, MA.
Sadly, the will is read and what’s this? Aunt Morganna only left a rickety old house that looks like something the Addams Family would’ve lived in, a cookbook and a spunky little pup Elvira is quick to give a makeover to. Uncle Vinny, was sadly left with nothing. Elvira gets to work quickly on a local hunk and does whatever she needs to do to sell the home. Soon it is revealed why Elvira was left with such feeble offerings, and the movie culminates in a true showdown of good and evil that includes a witch-burning ceremony, a shapeshifting dog, and a pair of boobs that can bend steel.
Will the forces of darkness live to conquer the planet, or is Elvira a good enough bad girl to stop it in its musty tracks? You’ll just have to watch it yourself, and a little bat told me Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, in all its gothic 1980’s glory is streaming on YouTube…
The final scene of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark gets her wish, among new friends and the love she found in Falwell, Ma.
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark was filmed in 6 weeks on a budget of $ 7,500,000 and earned just under $ 6,000,000 at the box office, officially making the film a flop. That’s okay though, Elvira fans don’t judge, and no matter how many years have passed, I can still pop this movie on and it is as fun as it was when I was young. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark also stars William Morgan Shepperd (Transformers 2007) as the aptly named and sinister Uncle Vincent Talbot.
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark celebrates its 35th birthday this year, and just in time for spooky season. Break out the red wine, the edrazeba, the Cheetos, and enjoy this forever classic, and iconic bit of camp history.
Until next time, unpleasant dreams!
