Product Description

Studio: Gaiam Americas Release Date: 08/26/2003 Run time: 30 minutes Rating: Nr

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40281 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-10-01
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
The audience for this rickety spoof is probably limited to three groups: diehard fans of Elvira, cultists of '60s horror (specifically the Edgar Allan Poe and Hammer offerings), and people who believe rim-shot, borscht belt humor ought to be brought back. The last group apparently includes Cassandra Peterson, the comedian who dreamed up Elvira; her fondness for vaudeville one-liners is either groan-worthy or infectious, depending on your tolerance for such things. Sample: "The village people say this castle is evil." "Ah, who listens to the Village People any more?" Ouch. Her Mae-West-meets-Vampira shtick wears surprisingly well at feature length (1988's Elvira, Mistress of the Dark is actually a pretty good time), although this movie simply runs out of material halfway through. Bonus: Rocky Horror genius Richard O'Brien contributes some amusing ravings as a mysterious Carpathian castle owner, pining away for a dead wife who suspiciously resembles our heroine. --Robert Horton

From the Back Cover
Elvira's back in an all-new adventure! With her anatomical assets, big black bouffant, and hilarious one-liners, the Mistress of the Dark knocks 'em dead in this side-splitting spoof that's equal parts Austin Powers and Young Frankenstein. Add a dash of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (co-star Richard O'Brien) and you've got the "bust-out" movie of the century.
It's 1851, and Elvira is en route to "gay Paree" to star in the revue "Yes I Can-Can." As bad luck would have it, she stops for the night at the Carpathian castle of Lord Vladimere Hellsubus (O'Brien), whose late wife - now a vengeful ghost - is a literal "dead" ringer for Elvira. What's a gal to do but break into song and dance, as Vladimere turns her dreams of stardom into a nightmare! But can Elvira keep her hands off the studly stable-master long enough to save the day?

Customer Reviews

Still scaring up laughs.
After a long (13 years) absence since her first motion picture (1988's Elvira, Mistress of the Dark) the wise cracking horror hostess is back. Now it's the mid 19th Century, the setting Transylvania, the star none other than Elvira. While en route to Paris, to star in "Yes, I Can Can," Elvira and her robust French maid Zou Zou find themselves in creepy mysterious castle Helsebus.

A foolish choice to hitch a ride on a stage coach lands them in Weird Central, where the family is cursed, the Master of the House (played by Rocky Horror's Richard O'Brien) is a lunatic, and Elvira apparently bears a striking (like a frying pan across the head) resemblance to the House's late lady, Elura who was said to have committed suicide exactly ten years to the day. However one is lead to believe foul play was involved, that one happens to be Elvira.

Can Elvira survive this creepy castle and its inhabitants for two full days and nights? Will she escape and make it to Paris? Or will she suffer the same fate of Elura Helsebus?

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This movie pays fiendishly fun homage to the old Corman/Poe, Vincent Price flicks of the 1950's. Complete with dramatic sets, secret passages, curses, wall entombment and even a pit complete with full swinging (and actually dangerous just ask Elvira) pendulum.

While Elvira fans will find this gothic romp a hilarious hay ride, non Elvira fans are sure to find something to enjoy. Besides Elvira's gravity defying pair this movie actually proves to hold up against today's market of CGI laden movies, with Hollywood big names and multi million dollar budgets.

All said and done, Elvira's Haunted Hills are definitely worth surveying. Mr. Price would be proud.

Taken in context, this is well-done
When I first rented this over the weekend, I thought it was bad. I expected something more like Elvira's Mistress of the Dark movie, which is fabulous. However, as I started looking at the special features of this film, I realized what the film was trying to accomplish and the budget that they worked with and it was actually a very good film when looked at this way.

Haunted Hills is a parody of old Vincent Price/Roger Corman movies. If you are a fan of old-school horror, this film will make so much more sense for you. Because I had not seen these movies when watching the film I was ready to trash it even though I generally love Elvira!

My only qualm was the scenes with Elvira and the stable-hand, Adrian. They wanted to make a joke about dubbed movies (and coincidentally the actor did not speak a word of English) so he spoke all of his lines in his native Romanian tongue and while it was funny in the first scene they had together, I got frustrated with it by the end of the movie. I kept hoping he would suddenly start speaking in English though I was amused that they kept the bit going through the whole film (then I learned that there was a good reason for it!).

I think part of the difference between this film and the last one is that the first film probably had a higher budget. Some of the actors were working on no budget/low budget as a favor to Cassandra and the director. Having financial support can go a long way into the quality of a film.

That being said, this has got plenty of Elvrira and lots of boob jokes and boob shots. The performance by the actor playing Dr. Bradley Bradley was very good and I also enjoyed the actress playing Lady Hellsebus. I also liked the costumes, though there were different period styles combined together.

So, if you are looking for a very contemporary horror-esque comedy you are not going to get this movie. It's very cliche because it really is trying to be very cliche. Once you understand that, the movie will be so much more enjoyable.

Another fun, funny and long overdue Elvira adventure!
Finally! After 14 years, Elvira's second feature film debuts. It's quite different from her first, but equally entertaining. Setting out to spoof some of her favorite horror films, Cassandra Peterson and her writing partner John Paragon fuse elements of the classic Roger Corman/Vincent Price/Edgar Allen Poe films The House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum and The Tomb of Ligea into a campy farce - perfect fodder for Elvira's unique talents.

Elvira recruited Rocky Horror's Richard O'Brien as her co-star, and he gives a great performance as Lord Hellsubus. Rounding out the cast are several members of L.A.'s Groundlings comedy troupe, Mary Scheer and Mary Jo Smith. Heather Hopper is terrific as Hellsubus's doomed sister, and Scott Atkinson does an amazing job as the two faced doctor with both an aristocratic and cockney British accent.

The sets are enormous and detailed. The cinematography is virtually flawless, and there are several very well done special effects (and Elvira comments on them in the film...). Of course, Elvira's campy quips and physical humor are the stars of the show. There's also a great running gag with the stableman's bad English dubbing. All in all, this is a long overdue and highly enjoyable adventure. Well worth checking out, especially if you enjoy Elvira's first film, or if you're a fan of the Roger Corman Poe films. You might also want to read the Elvira series of paperbacks(if you can find them...), also written by Cassandra Peterson and John Paragon...Elvira Transylvania 90210, Elvira Camp Vamp, and Elvira The Boy Who Cried Werewolf....they are a lot of fun too.