Director: James Signorelli
Screenplay: Sam Egan, John Paragon and Cassandra Peterson
Starring: Cassandra Peterson, W. Morgan Sheppard, Edie McClurg, Ellen Dunning and Daniel Greene
Country: United States
Running Time: 97 min
Year: 1988
Earlier this year, I dived into the world of one of Brazil’s answers to Freddy Kreuger, Coffin Joe. Originally starting out as a character in director José Mojica Marins films, the character of Joe eventually became a horror host. While doing my research for that review, I was only familiar with one other horror host and when the phrase comes to most people’s heads, I’m sure the same person would pop up for you too. The one and only Elvira, the host of Movie Macabre, a show where Cassandra Peterson played the tit-ular (get ready for the boob puns in this review, I’m just warning you) host Elvira, who’d watch a bad B-movie (usually in the public domain). After years of the show’s success, Roger Corman’s New World Pictures decided to bring Elvira to the big… screen and we received Elvira: Mistress of the Dark.
Back in 2018, Arrow Video gave the film the full boutique treatment on a jam-packed Blu-ray, crammed with commentaries, a making-of documentary, stills galleries and more. Six years later, they’ve decided to re-issue their excellent release on 4K UHD for the first time. The question is, how does the film hold up? Well…
Mistress of the Dark follows Elvira, who’s fed up with the creeps she has to deal with as a horror host, and dreams of opening a show in Las Vegas but doesn’t have the money to do so. After hearing that her great-aunt has passed away and she’s in the will, she travels to Massachusetts in hopes of getting the money for her show in Vegas. Little does she know, no money was left for her in the will and instead, she receives her great-aunt’s old house, her dog and a recipe book. Before she knows it, she’s fixing up the house so she can sell it to make money for her Vegas show and her Uncle Vinnie, who received nothing in the will, is determined to own the recipe book that Elvira inherited.
Mistress of the Dark is a delightful film that I love going back to revisit every couple of years. It’s packed to the brim with puns, silly innuendo and enough boob jokes that it’s a shock Roger Ebert didn’t like it. Peterson is great as Elvira, which makes sense given how many years she’d been playing the character at that time and I really admire the restraint the film has when it comes to the content. In the documentary included on the release, it’s mentioned that if this was an R rated comedy, it would have been a riff on Porky’s and probably wouldn’t have the cult audience it has today. Keeping things light on adult content actually benefits Mistress of the Dark as the constraints forced the team to come up with jokes that don’t need explicit language or nudity to make the audience laugh. I will say, I’m surprised that this didn’t get away with a 12 rating over here for the same reason, but I know the BBFC is a bit more strict on sex references so it makes sense.
The film shifts into a comedy-horror as it progresses, mirroring the silly B-movies that Elvira covers on her show and it’s a great time throughout all 97 minutes. Crock pot monsters, witch burning and a delightfully campy finale, it’s no surprise that the film has amassed quite the cult fanbase over the years. If you haven’t seen Elvira: Mistress of the Dark before and you’re in the mood for a fun, campy time, you can’t go wrong with this one. I feel like I should have ended this review with a boob pun, saved the breast for last or something. Oh well, there’s always next time.
Film: 
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark released on November 11th via Arrow Video on Limited Edition 4K UHD. The film has been restored in 4K for this UHD release by Arrow and it’s a pretty solid disc. Those familiar with Arrow’s Blu-ray shouldn’t expect a night-and-day difference between the pair (ba-dum-tss) but it’s a nice upgrade. High bit-rates throughout and a nice looking Dolby Vision grade complement the film well. Audio wise, it’s the same English 2.0 stereo track and it sounds great, no complaints there. Optional English HoH subs are included. Overall, it’s a good upgrade from the Blu-ray but given how great Arrow’s Blu-ray was, it might not be essential for everyone. The following extras are included.
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
All of the extras included are ported from Arrow’s previous Blu-ray, so if you own that release, you know what you’re in for.
The director’s intro is one of the funnier extras on the disc, lasting for a minute long and consists of director James Signorelli trying time and time again to record the intro. It’s a funny, bizarre piece that complements the film well.
The trio of audio commentaries are a fun listen, with each offering a different vibe overall. The first track with Peterson, McClurg and Paragon is laid back, fun and anecdotal about the shoot. The second track, which features director Signorelli and Fangoria editor Tony Timpone is more akin to a feature-length interview and while it’s an insightful track, it didn’t quite reach the heights of that first track for me. Finally, the commentary with Patterson Lundquist is essentially a fan commentary. Given that Lundquist runs the official Elvira fansite, it makes sense. It’s a good track and I liked it more than the prior track, but not quite as much as the archival commentary. A decent trio of audio commentaries that all offer something different.
Too Macabre – The Making of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is an exclusive documentary to Arrow’s release and contains interviews with every key player about the production of Mistress of the Dark. It runs for 97 minutes and it’s a fun watch. I was a particular fan of when Elvira herself, Cassandra Peterson was interviewed, as she’s always a delight to listen to. There’s dry spots and some repeated information from the commentary tracks, but if you haven’t listened to those and want a great overview of the making of the film, this is a must-watch.
Recipe for Terror: The Creation of the Pot Monster is an archival featurette that compliments the feature-length documentary well. Featuring interviews with all of the key VFX artists, director Signorelli and many of the actors, it dives into the practical effects in Mistress of the Dark. Hearing the stories about how they initially wanted Vincent Price as Uncle Vinnie but were unable to get him was fascinating, as well as how they created the crock pot monster and other visual effects in the film. It’s around twenty two minutes long and a fun watch.
Six image galleries and two trailers are included too.
I wasn’t provided with the collector’s booklet or the slipcover, but they seem to be identical to the Arrow Blu-ray release from 2018.
Overall, Arrow’s UHD release of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is a nice, if unsubstantial upgrade from their already excellent Blu-ray release. Still, we now live in a world where you can see Elvira in 4K UHD so I can’t really complain. Recommended for fans.
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