Elvira's Haunted Hills, the latest "Elvira" movie- is dedicated to Vincent Price. And it pays some serious homage to the memory of the man, relentlessly making reference after reference to the plethora of films he appeared in. (Not to mention, of course, the obligatory sexual innuendo and camp jokes that are liberally scattered throughout)

Most reviews I've read thus far have compared this movie to the first Elvira movie... but to be honest, I only saw it once many many moons ago. It was an occasion with friends 'round the old TV set with a camp movie in one hand and hard liquor in the other- so you'll forgive me for not remebering too much of it.

I did giggle, I do remember that- but I'm not altogether sure if it was from the movie- which I remember as being incredibly silly- or the Schnapps.

But I digress.

The story goes like this: Carpathia, 1850's. Elvira and her companion Zou Zou are kicked out of their hotel room for not paying. While hoofing it down the road, a coach stops to ask if they'd like a ride. They meet Dr. Bradley Bradley, who takes them to Castle Hellsubus, a looming scary looking place in the mountains.

The mountains, however, are nothing compared to the residents within. Lord Vladimere Hellsubus (can you guess why that name is red and boldfaced? :D) is hyper-sensitive to nearly any sensation, his niece is prone to passing out every two seconds, and his wife, Ema, is about as creepy as they come. Elvira arrives and strikes horror into their hearts (and it has nothing to do with her erm... tracts of land, either!) as she looks the spitting image of Vladimere's first wife, Elura.

Vladimere claims that he is sorrowful over her demise, and certainly seems to be... but every now and again he turns on Elvira and threatens to send her back to hell... that is, until she hits his uh... reset button, by smashing him in the cajones. **

Elura has come to claim her revenge, and Vladimere isn't quite as honest about her death as he could be, as you can imagine, him being the villain and all. He traps Elvira and her servant, but in the end Elura's spirit is set free from the curse of Castle Hellsubus. Yay!

There's a WHOLE lot of goofy humor here, and another bad accent from Richard... (although I tend to find those on the funny side..)

The stable master, Adrian, having his voice dubbed was an incredibly nice touch- too bad he didn't do any karate. Or sing Janet's part from the floorshow in Rocky Horror. :)

As Richard was in the film, there is of course a reference joke to TRHPS... upon meeting him, Elvira greets him with "Enchante". Also look for Richard actually SMILING on film- normally I have to go through a thing frame by bloody frame to find something that almost kind of sort of looks like a smile. Here, however, there is a dream sequence where Vladimere remembers his idyllic wedding day, and the sorrow that followed. He mimes being in a box, serves "happy face" pancakes, and pretends to "walk to the basement".

There's also a shot of him sucking his thumb in bed and snuggling a teddy bear. (awwwww....)

Also, look for the scene where Bradley is showing Elvira Vladimere's relatives. :)

Great film? Nah. But it is fun.

"Ouch... that smarts" -Vladimere Hellsubus

 

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* - Which mentions a question and answer session sort of thing... and Cassandra Peterson (Elvira) commenting on how there was some "Diva headbutting" between she and Richard during filming. Hmmm.... :)
**- What is it recently with Richard getting knocked in the family jewels?? I certainly hope for his sake this doesn't become a trend, and that he at least has a "tapper" double!