Top-heavy horror show host Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) quits her TV job to try her luck in Vegas as a showgirl, not realising that she will need $50,000 to kick-start her new career. As luck will have it, that very same day she receives a letter informing her that she is a beneficiary of her late Aunt Morgana. Elvira packs her bags and drives to Fallwell, Massachusetts, for the reading of the will, where she learns that she has inherited her aunt's rundown house, a dog, and a cook book. What she doesn't realise is that her aunt was a witch, that the book contains recipes for spells, and that her Uncle Vincent (William Morgan Sheppard) will do anything to get his hands on it. Meanwhile, the puritanical townsfolk of Fallwell, unimpressed by Elvira's appearance and demeanour, look for a way to be rid of their new neighbour.To be honest, the plot for Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is instantly forgettable schlock, the ribald gags not all that funny, and Peterson's abrasive schtick rather tiresome after a while, but it doesn't really matter that much: the film more than caters for its intended demographic—horny males—by ensuring that its buxom star flashes her impressive cleavage at every opportunity. A thigh high slit in her black dress also gives leg men plenty to appreciate, while those who like a shapely derriere will be pleased to know that Peterson also flashes her butt.Funniest gag: "How's your head?" asks town beefcake Bob (Daniel Greene) after dropping a sign on Elvira's nut. "I haven't had any complaints yet," replies Elvira.Best boob scene: Elvira's Las Vegas act that sees the star twirling her tassles by gyrating her jugs. Mesmerising!

I feel like Elvira's sense of humor is kind of a specific one, and may even be kind of an acquired taste. It's very 1980's, with lots of really (and I mean REALLY) corny sexual innuendo.In spite of this, "Mistress of the Dark" goes out of its way to portray Elvira herself as more than just a piece of eye candy -- I believe the word the kids today would use is "sex positive." Elvira knows what she wants and kicks every guy to the curb that would dare take advantage of her. Even though she plays up the role of a bimbo on occasion, she's often smarter and tougher than that.If you can deal with that, then this ends up being a pretty alright movie to watch around Halloween. Granted, it's a little dull; The production value feels very "basic cable" despite this movie's theatrical release. The raunchy humor isn't quite raunchy enough and the pace of the movie is a little too slow. It's a movie that's trying to have bite, but ends up being more of a nibble.The real problem is how the movie beats you over the head with how "cool" Elvira is meant to be. She's here to show these prudish normies what's up, with her hot rod and her heavy metal and her snarky attitude. It ends up being kind of overbearing at times, with Elvira breaking the fourth wall multiple times just to crack a bad joke directly at the audience. Bugs Bunny she is not.But I still get some enjoyment out of it. It's dopey, low budget, and cheesy, which is more than a little fitting for somebody who built a career riffing on dopey, low budget, and cheesy movies.

Well, this movie is about Elvira and her breasts more than anything else. Take the references and jokes and leers and squeezes and ogling out and 60% of the film is gone just like that. The film opens with Elvira on the set of her television show when just as she loses her job for refusing to play horsey to the new station owner, she discovers she has inherited something in Falwell, Mass.(Nice use of Jerry Falwell's name here too by the way!). Well, the town is uber "moral" and Elvira is...Elvira. Eventually she discovers she has spell powers, etc... and battles her uncle for her life and property. In between we get all kinds of silly humour such as a dog with a punk hairstyle, an orgiastic picnic with Edie McClurg(need I say more?), a rather tame and pedestrian romance with some imbecile in town, Elvira quipping one-liners like the sleazy Oscar Wilde of her time, and breasts. more breasts. More cleavage. More suggestive uses for those breasts. We get innuendo by the truckload. Naturally all this makes for a silly and stupid film, but Cassandra Peterson as Elvira is indeed more than two large fleshy orbs - she has other talents. She is funny. She can act - at least for a film like this. She has a great screen persona. Sure, the sophomoric obsession with her bazooms, her bosom, her jugs, her boobs, her mammaries, her ample bounty get a bit tiresome for me(and I assure you I am not only a big fan but a dedicated one with regard to those assets), but they are funny an not really made to be anything other than that. There is absolutely nothing erotic here. Elvira is having fun and likes people to see her - much of her - having fun. There are lots of pretty good verbal and visual gags throughout. My favourite is when a letter from a movie marquee hits Elvira in the head. Bob, the dull romantic lead, says, "How's your head?" To which Elvira says, "I've had no complaints."

Since the start of her career in the 70's and vastly throughout the exuberant 80's, Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) has grown into a modest icon and genuine cult figure in the world of horror & bad monster movies. While Ms. Peterson has taken on various supporting roles in motion pictures, covering a wide variety in genres, it was her TV-character Elvira that brought her the most fame. Part of her charm – and respect from the fans – lies in the fact she never turned her back on the horror genre that made her famous (unlike many other big name actors & actresses that like to distantiate themselves from their "early" work). I've seen only bits & pieces of her TV performances, but her cameo role in Ghoultown's recent tribute song "Mistress of the Dark" really encouraged me to check out more of her stuff. One thing had been clear to me already long before this music video: Over the years, Elvira had become a force of influence herself by the time the mid-80's came around.And in 1988, after films like "Fright Night" and "TerrorVision" incorporated homages to and spoofs on her TV-work, it finally happened: "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark", the motion picture. Now, I had seen the trailer for it already back in the VHS rental days, but it took me until last week to finally see the actual film. A few years ago, I did manage to watch "Elvira's Haunted Hills" (made in 2001), but for some reason it didn't impress me all that much. Was it really that forgettable, or should I give it another watch? I actually really do feel like re-watching it now, as this first Elvira film from '88 really convinced me. Though perhaps partly responsible for making this film work, might be Sam Egan and John Paragon with their contributions to the script, there really is no way to deny it: Cassandra Peterson has a great feel for comedy (she also co-wrote the screenplay).When Elvira learns she's one of the beneficiaries of a Great Aunt (she never heard of before), she takes it as the long cherished opportunity to start up her own show in Las Vegas. Out to claim her rightfully inherited money, she travels to a quiet New England town. But the uptight townspeople of Falwell are in for a treat. In less than no time she manages to shock and insult all noteworthy inhabitants of the conservative little town with her (often unintentionally) provocative behaviour. To make things worse, her inheritance turns out not to be what she expected: A rundown mansion, a cookbook and a poodle. But what she doesn't know, and her evil uncle Vincent Albot does, is that her Great Aunt was a witch, and the cookbook contains recipes to concoct the most hellishly dark powers imaginable. And if you haven't turned off the movie yet by the time Elvira has cooked up her first dish from the recipe-book, then rest assured, you're going to sit out this ride with a smile on your face.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 loose track of the story completely (like the "Naked Gun" films, for example), 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 ("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 loose 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.I'm telling you, there's no power in hell that could make this movie unfunny. One of the first giggles I got was during the opening credits already, when Daniel Greene's name appeared. Daniel who? Oh yes, I recognized his name (and later on his dim-witted macho-face). How can one not forget Daniel Greene once you've seen... "Atomic Cyborg aka Fists of Steel"! But if you haven't seen "Atomic Cyborg", then I'm sorry, but you won't be able to laugh with his face in this one. And on a side-note: I never could have imagined Elvira looking this cool while ignorantly driving away from a gas station. Even Robert Rodriguez could not have made that shot look any better.