After our review of Cassandra Peterson’s excellent 2021 autobiography, we decided to give Elvira: Mistress of Darkness (1988) a watch. We rented it for £1.99 and then realised it’s actually available on YouTube for free. DAMN!!!
Anyway, despite the extreme cost, we really like this camp, tongue-in-cheek fantasy comedy horror film. It was directed by James Signorelli, Peterson had a hand in writing the script, and it all plays out as a lovingly crafted B movie homage.
Let’s GO GOTH for Elvira: Mistress of the Dark
This is a film you don’t take seriously to get the most out of. Reviews online we’ve seen have been a bit snotty, but you really need to understand this is a very self-aware romp with the purpose of being ridiculous.
But some people (in 1988 and the modern era) have taken Mistress of the Dark the wrong way. You can see that in the late ’80s reaction, with Peterson nominated for a Best Actress gong at the Saturn Awards and also a Worst Actress gong at the Golden Raspberry Awards.
If you’re happy to enjoy Peterson hamming it up to the extremes, plus a never-ending series of double entendre (almost like it’s an episode of ’90s sitcom Bottom), then you’ll have a blast.
The film brings to life Elvira, who previously was a sardonic and sassy film review horror hostess for a TV show. Mistress of the Dark begins with that premise, but Elvira quits her job as her new boss is a pervert. She plans to head out to Las Vegas and open a stage act at the famous Flamingo Hotel. It is her dream.
The narrative then deliberately ramps up the contrivances so Elvira learns she’s a beneficiary of her great-aunt’s fortune. She travels out to Massachusetts to claim her inheritance, which turns out to be a large mansion and an enigmatic cookbook.
Elvira also starts outraging local Conservative members of the community who view her as a witch (because of stuff like this).
Yeah, from the above clip the handsome bloke is Bob (Daniel Greene), whom Elvira immediately tries to start dating. She invites him round to her home for a romantic meal.
Romance goes hellishly wrong when she cooks up something from her aunt’s mysterious cookbook, which unleashes a crazed monster into the situation.
The narrative winds its way to a merry conclusion, with Elvira getting her dream scenario in Las Vegas. Overall, though, the film is an opportunity to get a bunch of corny one liners together and other silly stuff.
Yeah, so it’s all very absurd. Peterson had already had years of improvisational comedy acting on stage for experience, so we think she did a fine job here. The acting is exactly what it needs to be. Lots of sass, deadpan one liners, and some slapstick when necessary.
She really threw herself into it all (including a song and dance number at the close of the film). Considering the lack of experience for many involved in the production, making their first film, it’s all very well made. But that slight twinge of amateurishness adds an extra sense of B movie fun.
It’s camp to the extreme, very ridiculous, arguably the most self-aware film in history, and it’s lots of fun.
The Production of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark
There was a surprisingly impressive budget for the film, highlighting how big a deal the Elvira character had become. With $7.5 million to play with, that’s why the production values ended up surprisingly excellent.
Unfortunately, the film was a flop with a $5.5 million global box office return.
Not a total disaster, but no profit either. This appears to be down to the bankruptcy of distributor New World Pictures at the exact moment of the film’s rollout in the US. That financial problem meant Mistress of the Dark’s theatrical run went from 3,000 cinemas to 150.
A bugger, then, but the film has since reached cult classic status. It’s available to watch on streaming and has an official Blue-ray that launched in December 2018. There are even action figures popular with collectors based around this film, so in the long-term Mistress of the Dark will have made a profit.
Cassandra Peterson co-wrote the script with John Paragon and Sam Egan. Peterson also included several cast members from her improvisational comedy troop The Groundlings who’d been on the fringes of the LA comedy scene in the late ’70s.
The shoot itself was over eight weeks and had a few issues. One was the on-set dog Gonk (real name Binnie) who was only friendly towards its owner. The owner was also very uptight about the dog, so it had to go through make-up everyday rather than having long-term makeup applied.
There’s a scene where Peterson is about to be burned at the stake by outraged Conservative locals. This took some five days to shoot, which left the lead actor tied up there for hours at a time covered in flame-resistant retardant.
Difficult at the time, we’re sure, but she has fond memories of it all.
Also, on a final note, a pre-fame Brad Pitt was almost in this film! He was to star as a local youth, but Peterson didn’t cast him as he was too good looking. She felt Elvira would be more interested in Brad Pitt’s character over her in-film love interest Bob.
Oh well, Mr. Pitt, these things happen. Sure you’ll get another opportunity at some point for a film career.
