ELVIRA'S 40TH ANNIVERSARY, VERY SCARY, VERY SPECIAL, SPECIAL (REVIEW)

Dir. Jim Kunz

Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield

The hostess with the mostest returns to celebrate her 40th anniversary of giving teens and adults alike a good wink to the camera while showcasing her hidden gems in the genre. Bringing with her her two biggest assets, her charm and her wit, Elvira doesn't look a day over 40 and we're sure she has a painting in the attic somewhere but with her revamping of her old act, brings with ait a joyous return to movie marathons, something this era of horror fans are truly missing out on.

Here return is broken down into episodes however it's essentially 4 films intercut with Elvira's spark of energy which makes an event out of what would usually be so bad they're good horror's and instead are actually really good. Added into the mix and episode 1 is Elvira's own movie outing ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK which is no less a joy to watch now than it was back in 1988. Her self aware movie debut falls top heavy into the comedy classics of the 80s but never strays too far away from horror with witch hunts, demonic summonings and a casserole that wants you for dinner. The humour is still revelant and the best thing is, there could well be a new audience to keep Elvira's legacies going.

Episode 2 is the Vincent Price classic HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL with CITY OF THE DEAD and finally MESSIAH OF EVIL. All of which are paired perfectly with Elvira's charismatic interludes that never get too distracting from the main event, and let's be honest... Elvira IS the main event.

The humour may be easy settling in 2021 but the trick with Elvira is that the wit has always been cleverer than the surface level CARRY ON people may associate with her. Never are the laughs at the expense of Cassandra Peterson's character, but always with and this enjoyable comradeship between smut and comedy has always been well balanced.

Whether you have seen these classics before or not, and if you have you'll need no more excuse to watch them again, these are all presented in loving homage by one of the genres leading ladies and there's no reason to be scared when the mistress is this welcoming.

Unpleasant dreams.