I was all set to be disappointed by this movie, based on all the negative reviews. I saw the first Elvira movie, "Elvira: Mistress of the Dark," in the theater when it originally came out and have enjoyed it a few times since. "Elvira's Haunted Hills" just isn't as prevalent on T. V. or streaming as "Mistress of the Dark," so I had not gotten around to seeing it until Shout Factory recently released it on Blu-ray. I actually really enjoyed it! I laughed out loud several times and was amused throughout. (The Shout Blu-Ray has a new introduction with Cassandra Peterson that is plain hilarious, and she looks like she hasn't aged one bit.) The movie really benefits from the change in the setting and time period. I think it would have been a mistake to make this a direct sequel to "Mistress..." and to retain the same characters, setting, etc. Because that would have been simply more of the same. It is fortunate that Cassandra Peterson again enlisted her writing partner and fellow Groundling, John Paragon to work on this film; according to her memoirs, Mr. Paragon (rest in peace, brother) most unfortunately suffered a fall from a horse and was unable to see this project through to its completion. Nevertheless, "Haunted Hills" is its own entity and I think it stands really well as a companion to "Mistress of the Dark."
Review of Elvira's Haunted Hills
