Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is a fun, silly fantasy-comedy that any fan of the character will probably eat up, however myself, I never grew up watching her so I don’t have the same love for the character compared with most around my age.
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark
(1988)
Genre(s): Comedy, Horror
Arrow Video | PG13 – 96 min. – $39.95 | April 28, 2020
Date Published: 07/01/2020 | Author: The Movieman
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Arrow Video provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Having just quit her job as a TV horror hostess, Elvira receives the news that she’s set to inherit part of her great aunt’s estate. Arriving in Fallwell, Massachusetts to claim her inheritance, She receives a cold welcome from the conservative locals, including her uncle Vincent, an evil warlock secretly scheming to steal the old family spellbook for his own nefarious ends… Quick Hit Review: Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is a fun enough comedy, sure the lead, Cassandra Peterson, isn’t a phenomenal actress by any stretch and a bit goofy even within the context of this sort of subject and character, but it was an entertaining enough flick. That said, I probably didn’t get as much out of this as some since growing up I never watched or read Elvira so the character doesn’t really hold a special place, so I think big fans will eat every moment of this movie up. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.75/5 |
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The first pressing of this came with a slip cover and booklet, further pressings (which I received for this review) do not. The cover is reversible revealing the movie’s original poster artwork. Even so, this does have a fair amount of bonus material to wade through. Audio Commentaries:
Too Macabre: The Making of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1:37:04) is a newly-revised 2018 version feature-length documentary featuring interviews with various members of the cast and crew including Cassandra Peterson. Recipe for Terror: The Creation of the Pot Monster (22:13) — Featurette on the concept and design of the pot monster, as well as the other SFX of the movie. Image Galleries
Also included is the Original US Theatrical Trailer (1:49) and the Original Teaser Trailer (1:05). |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Arrow Video releases Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is presented with a 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and has been given a new 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture here was taken from the original 35mm interpositive and scanned in 2K resolution and all in all, does look pretty good. Detail respectable enough and colors appear to be natural without seemingly artificially boosted while black levels are stark but still showcasing any in-frame elements. Given the film’s age, going on 30+ years now, it might not be amazing, yet still more than satisfactory. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The movie comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track which is perfectly serviceable given the film’s age, plus being a comedy. Dialogue sounds clear and there were no noticeable bouts of hissing or pops making for a clean lossless track. |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
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Overall, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is a fun, silly fantasy-comedy that any fan of the character will probably eat up, however myself, I never grew up watching her so I don’t have the same love for the character compared with most around my age. In any case, this Blu-ray release from Arrow Video comes with a great selection of bonus material to go along with respectable video and audio transfers. |