Why Elvira: Mistress of the dark movie is an honorable horror film

It’s not just a Halloween movie, I had heard of Elvira: mistress of the dark. I would scroll past it on Hulu, there was a slight interest but it when it comes to horror movies for me, I don't normally do the ones that have comedy in it. Last year in October, I was looking for a horror movie after re-watching all of my fall fright festive films. I gambled on a new film to watch, this time when I found Elvira on the list of horror films, I didn't scroll past it. I clicked it, I watched it, and I accidently loved it. It parodied other films, it was written with self-awareness of the clichés in horror films. It written to be funny on purpose with purpose. But I found out that it held more significance then just being apart of the horror culture.

I had heard of Elvira in reference, but I never watched the movies or show of that character to learn why she has such a strong relevance. I didn't know what was so appealing about her and why she has a strong fanbase even to this day as I'm typing it up this piece about her. As a movie buff, I did what I do, and I did my research. I’m always fascinated with these special moments that most people don’t really know it. It's what makes the story enjoyable to watch after learning the significance behind a certain scene or a certain actor being in there. If you've seen Elvira, these snippets of trivia will change the way you watch this humor horror cult classic. You'll find out she is one of the most honorable women as an entertainer and as an icon of horror.

First things first, Who is Elvira?

Elvia is a gothic hostess character created by Cassandra Peterson.

You might not know who she is yet, but you'll be as surprised as I was when I found out that she's been reference gem as a double reference of style icon and horror icon in multiple Halloween episodes of various TV shows. I had heard of her but I didn't have much interest in knowing who she was besides gathering the knowledge that she had to do something with horror or goth. This woman holds a legacy in horror and media.

She's iconic, stylish, slick, and humorous. She brought a bold new twist to horror, she did everything she could and got anything she wanted. It's evident in the movie as it stands to be more then just a horror comedy. After knowing the history of Cassandra Peterson, I watched this movie knowing the reason behind some of the scenes or purposes of the minor or major characters.

After I watched Elvira mistress of the dark about two times I went to go do my homework on Cassandra Peterson as well as the trivia of the movie and I found out what makes us a very sweet, honorable movie than being a scary horror movie.

The actors in the movie have collaborated with her before

In Hollywood it’s usually every man or woman for themselves trying to get the next big gig or trying to make it on their own, but Cassandra Peterson was one of those people that worked with people and wanted to give back to her people. There are some people in Hollywood that mention about how they went with a group or a troop to stick with for support in the strive for stardom. They essentially became a family to help each other out with jobs or practice or even living together. Cassandra Peterson had an eclectic group of comedic people that she worked with, some of which she hired them because she wanted their work to be known. John Paragon who worked on Elvira's Movie Macabre (and he was a co-writer for the film too!) and Edie McClurg who was apart of her comedy troupe. There is also Lynne Marie Seward, Deryl Carroll, Joey Arias, and Tress MacNeille.

The Tribute For A Friend Gone Too Soon

In the film, Elvira has a love interest named Bob Redding, the character is just a basic has more of an importance because of who Bob was inspired by for the character. The character was made in tribute to someone in real life, named Robert Allen Redding, the best friend of Cassandra Peterson. He died before the film was finished, the whole film is dedicated to him.

Originally when I saw this character, I thought it was just a bland generic character since it was a common way love interest characters were written in the 1980s (I'm looking at you Sixteen Candles). After I looked up the trivia to learn the character of Bob Redding was written to be like Cassandra Peterson's best friend, personality and all. Learning he was based off someone real does make this character more genuine to watch because he was based off of someone who was very genuine in real life. It might just be the sweetest sentiment in a horror film, it's a small piece of knowledge but it changed the way I saw that character.

So when you watch the movie and see that character, know he was made out of love and honor to one of the most important people that was in Cassandra Peterson's life.

It is basically an autobiography

About half of the story for the film does stem from real life, Cassandra Peterson's life. How is a horror comedy an autobiography? I'll point it out. The beginning, the middle, and the end. The main premise of the film is Elvira wanting the money from her inheritance to buy her spot into the show she has dreamed of doing in Las Vegas. In the beginning of the film, Elvira voices her complaints about with the studio over her show not being taken seriously in production as her set is taken down immediately for the news show to begin. When the anchorwoman is setting up her area for the news, she makes a insulting comment to Elvira, naturally Elvira bites back with another insult. Cassandra Peterson did reveal that the part of the film was in there because of what she went through from being dismissed for her content and being disrespected by an anchorwoman she frequently clashed with. There is the honorable creation of Bob Redding, that was already talked about so feel free the scroll up to re-read it. And then the film comes full circle with the plot of Elvira finally landing her spot in Vegas. In real life Cassandra Peterson really was a showgirl in Las Vegas, she even worked with Elvis Presley himself! When it came time for the dance number of "Here I Am", doing the dance routine was as easy as breathing for Cassandra Peterson. All the tactics she was taught in her go-go dancing days and her Las Vegas showgirl times all came together in one dance scene. If you look at that scene knowing your watching a woman of many talents incorporate everything she's ever learned and had fun with it, it truly makes it a fun film to watch when your watching someone who had a lot of fun doing it.

The character of Elvira had a unique brand that was a bit of a mixed bag back in the 1980s. Going into a darker tone horror movies changed immensely in the 1980s because the 80s was all about excess. Elvira wore her signature 60s beehive hairdo and crazy make up she look like all three decades into one person into the 1980s. There is no one that can look like Elvira, except for Elvira. She changed a decade back then, people were ready for how weird she was going to make horror. This film is full of fun, honoring the genre of horror by making fun of it and then adding to it. Cassandra Peterson is truly one of the staples of horror movies by having it be welcoming and enjoyable and not being scared.