Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark Film Review

When people think of horror films they usually think of something scary and a film where lots of people die. However they really also seem to forget that horror much like any medium of film can and really does have alot of different genre's in it all of which help to make horror films stand out because you never really know what it is that your going to be getting with each one case in point the film that i'm going to be reviewing for you all today and so then me as I review the film that saw a horror icon star in her very own movie with the film in question being called simply just "Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when she finds out a long lost relative has died and she is to attend the reading of her will Elvira finds out that there's something more to the recipe book that she's been left and that others will do just about anything to get their hands on it. Now then in of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good with this films plot being dumb but in a way that makes the plot of the film more fun to watch as this is a film that really doesn't require a deep thought provoking plot in order to make it work as the only thing that t needs to do that are the jokes and the characters and therefor having a deep plot will get in the way of the jokes and will halt the characters from being there likable or hate able selves but in saying that this films plot is also a tad bit on the thin side as well not to the point where it becomes hard to work out what the actual plot of the film is even meant to be in the first place but enough so that we the audience do start to notice it with the film also having a side plot with Elvira trying to fit in with the of this very uptight town which was a fun addition to the film as it does lead to some really fun and funny scenes but at the same time tho it felt like that the side plot was taking over the main plot alot of the time where as the side plot should be exactly that on the side as something fun and not something that gets more screentime then the main plot of the film does with this films plot also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is one of this films co-writers Cassandra Peterson as Elvira and Great-Aunt Morgana Talbot. Also starring in this film is Binnie as Gonk , W. Morgan Sheppard as Great-Uncle Vincent Talbot , Daniel Greene as Bob Redding , Susan Kellermann as Patty , Edie McClurg as Chastity Pariah , Robert Benedetti as Mr. Calvin Cobb , Kurt Fuller as Mr. Glotter , Jeff Conaway as Travis , Frank Collison as Billy , William Duell as Lesley Meeker , Pat Crawford Brown as Mrs. Meeker , Ellen Dunning as Robin Meeker , Kris Kamm as Randy , Scott Morris as Sean , Ira Heiden as Bo , Tress MacNeille as The Anchorwoman and The Voice Of Great-Aunt Morgana Talbot , Phil Rubenstein as The TV Director and Frank Welker as The Voice Of Gonk.

Now then in of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With all of the actors that you expect to give us a really performance giving us exactly that which is something that could be also be seen as being bad things as well as good thing as it's the exact kind of performance that you'd expect from any of these actors and therefor when they act the exact way that you expect them to your not all that blown away or surprised by it and while all of this films actors do indeed try there best to make this films script work for them there's really only one actor that steels every single scene that she's in and that's none other then Cassandra Peterson herself who to put it simply is just a joy to watch in this film with her really perfecting the Elvira character and getting everything about that character down perfectly which is something that does make alot of sense as she had been playing the character for a number of years up until this point on TV and would go on play her for more decades and as such it really does make sense that she would be the best actor in this film with the acting that's in this very film really being helped by the fat that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them more naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.

Where this film does fair a little bit better is in it's characters as outside of Elvira herself the film does have alot of really fun and at times funny characters in it. Like for example Elvira's love interest Bob who is the typical good looking but at times dim-witted guy which does lead to some scenes with his character and Chastity Pariah who to put it simply is the town know it all and who has to spread gossip around the town and is easily offended by anything and everything Elvira does which is something that much like Bob does lead to some really good and funny scenes not only with her character but with all of the towns counsel as well however the films best character outside of Elvira herself is quite easily Vincent Talbot who can be this really charming person who will make you want to do bad things for him but then at the drop of a hat turns out this evil warlock with him going from sweet and charming to dangerous and terrifying with none of it feeling out of place for his character as it's quite clear from his first scene that he's not quite on the straight and narrow the film not really deviating from that setup which again does lead to some fun scenes with his characters but at the same time tho it does make his character seem a little boring as there's nothing more to his character other then that but he gets the gold star treatment when compared to quite literally anyone else in the town as alot of them aren't given much in the way of personality and as a result of that is the fact that they do all start to merge into one with it being hard to tell who is who alot of the time with it being clear as day that the film only included them just to give Elvira someone to talk to and in the case of the teens someone who can actually be friends with Elvira.

With this film featuring a character who was made popular thanks to being the star of a TV show it would have been very easy for the makers of this film to do just do an episode of the show but as a movie much like what Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie did. However the makers of this film actually went the extra mile by giving us something that couldn't be dine in an episode of Movie Macabre and also by giving more backstory and lore to the Elvira character which was something that does work well in this film favor as it means that the people who liked the show now have an extra reason to watch this movie and have it not just be an extended episode of the show which is something that this movie very easily could have been but by the fact that the makers of this film went that extra mile by giving the Elvira character some backstory and lore it does show that there was alot of love for the character not only from those that watched her and still do watch her but also from those that were working on the film both behind the scenes and infront of the camera as well with that ion really burning through so much so that alot of people don't even know of the second and to date final live action Elvira film as alot of them just think of this film because of the fact that the makers of this film dared to do something that wasn't just an extended episode of the show and actually dared to open up the world that this character does take place in which also has the add of effect of making the world of the show alot more bigger and lived in as well with all of that being done just due to the fact that the makers of this film chose to give this film and original story and not have be nothing more then just a big budgeted version of the show itself.

While this film wasn't a hit at the box office a film like this one was never going to be as it's far to out there and for a far to niche audience for it to be a massive hit film. With this film being the kind of film that studios just wouldn't dram of making today due to the fact that only appeals to mainly to horror fans and even then you have to have grown up in a certain part of America to know just who the Elvira character is in the first place and top of that there's not much to this film that would make it a global hit film in the first place which s the very thing that studios today want the most as there all trying to milk whatever existing properties that they have dry and yet here's a film that features a character that not alot of people would have heard of not only just falling short of it's $7.5 million American dollar budget but also being a cult film all of which combine to oddly enough make this film one that just wouldn't be made today not due to the content of the film as even for an eighties film the film is oddly tame but rather it's because of the fact that this film wouldn't be a guaranteed hit film which is a shame as audiences today are just begging for the major studios to release a film that's nothing more then pure campy fun instead of milking there own properties dry and by being a film that's just not that fun to watch as believe it or not we the audience actually want to watch films that are just fun films to watch and that we can watch without having to switch our brains off as while yes having smart films to watch is good as well sometimes just all you need is a film that's nothing more then pure , campy , cult fun and that's exactly what this film is and the major studios should be looking to films like this as if you make films like this but make up well then you get people not only back to the theaters more often but you'd also have another property on your hands as well.

It would be foolish to say that this is a perfect film because the truth is that it isn't with the film having plenty of flaws to back it up. Like for example Vincent Talbot while he is a solid villain and able for this film isn't that interesting of a character due to the fact that the film doesn't bother to tell us all that much about him other then that the fact that he's an evil warlock and on the town counsel and that's really it and heck we get to find out more about Chastity Pariah then we do Vincent Talbot and she's meant to be the films secondary villain and even then it could be argued that the films secondary villain is actually Patty as both characters are the villains in the films subplot but to equal degree and yet because of the fact that the film spends more time being focused on that plot then it is the main plot of the film the Vincent character cant be that well developed as either a villain nor as a character as we don't get to find out why he's evil in the first place as we only get to find out that he wants the book of magic spells because he believes it to be his and that's really it which isn't enough to get us to care about the character one way or the other as the very least with Patty or Chastity Pariah you do get the chance to actually form an opinion on them as characters be it due to the fact that you hate them or like them wither way you feel something for them where as due to the fact that the film hadn't taken the time to give us a reason to care for the Vincent character that's not the case with him so much so that when Elvira does defeat him at the end your not left with feeling joy your left feeling nothing as that's all that the film gave you to care about him nothing.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running tome of exactly one hour and thirty minuets and eighteen seconds. Which to be fair to this film is one the films many bright spots as this film does have the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time however this film doesn't really use that running time all that wisely as neither the plot of the film nor the films central romance are developed all that well as the plot of the film as was mentioned before can be seen as being a bit on the weak side of things with the makers of this film instead choosing to put alot more time and effort into the films subplot and not the actual plot of the films and the films romance isn't done well enough due to the fact that the film doesn't even try to develop the romance between Elvira and Bob to the point where it would become believable that these two characters would fall for each other with it seeming like that this film is trying to do to much with to little of a running time with the only way that you could foreseeably fix alot of the issues with this film is give the film a slightly longer running time as then the main plot of the film could get alot more focused and be more developed because of it with the same thing also true for alot of the side characters and the films romance as well even more so for the films romance as that's meant to be a key plot point in the film but because it isn't believable enough it just doesn't work as well as the makers of this film thought that it would do as the film does devote so little of it's running time as it has to balance out to other plotlines and get to the next plot point in both of them as soon as it possibly could do but I really will it that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us un this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With this film having alot of painfully moments in it with there being so many jokes in this film and nearly all pf them land and land well as well and in what can be seen as being a rare thing in comedies these days when the film does throw a pretty lame joke at you it doesn't really matter because of the fact that it's already thrown two or three more good ones at you and while yes the amount of s*x jokes might be enough to put people off watching this film which would be fair enough as alot of different people find different things to be funny with alot of the of the films best jokes being all of the quick one liners that Elvira throws out there as alot of them are just so quick that half the time you won't even notice them until after it's been said and while alot of this films s*x jokes might be seen as being to much for some they are also quite funny with alot of what makes those jokes being how the people around Elvira act when she does tell one of those jokes and seeing just how oblivious that she is to the fact that all of the teenage boys in town have a huge crush on her is also a pretty funny joke in it's own right as it plays into the fact that Elvira isn't the smartest tool in the shed and yet it still works as that's just who Elvira is as a character and while this films jokes can be seen as being to rude for some it's those jokes that do make up alot of some really good jokes in this very film in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall this film is a must watch for anyone that likes that horror comedies as while this film is lacking on the scare front it really doesn't need many scares as it more then makes up for it by having alot of jokes that have stood the test of the time as that's just how good that this film really is in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that rally does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7.5 out of 20 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all o the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Tenor , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images from this film being Google Images simply because Google Images actually has images from this film really are up and on Google Images and plus pretty much much all of the images that I personally found on Google Images were all really very fairly high quality and as well as being as really very fairly high definition as well and so then horror fans we end this review as we always do with really our one and true goddess Elvira wishing us all some really very unpleasant dreams.