Elvira’s Movie Macabre: Mega Movie Marathon

Spanning nearly three decades of release, the movies included are Night of the Living Dead, I Eat Your Skin, The Satanic Rites of Dracula, The Werewolf of Washington, The Terror, Eegah!, Scared to Death, Tormented, The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, The Manster, Lady Frankenstein and Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter. All reside in the public domain; all but one are generally regarded as terrible, which, of course, is the point.

Heavy in both puns and breasts, the iconic Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) makes periodic break-ins to the film — via a small frame appearing in the corner — for a quick quip. For example, in The Werewolf of Washington: "Everyone saw that, right? Dean Stockwell just licked a midget."

Her cornball humor works fine in these dime-sized doses, but grows weary in the longer sketches that bookend the movies. However, she does a fine Sarah Palin, as witness in the Washington episode: “I've triggered more hanging chads than Al Gore!"

Each disc boasts the same handful of special features, including a Ghoultown rockabilly music video featuring Elvira, an all-too-brief look behind the scenes (during which viewers can glimpse Peterson out of her Elvira garb and still looking fabulous at 61) and trailers for the fractured flicks. —Rod Lott

Hey! Read This:
Elvira’s Haunted Hills DVD review   
Lady Frankenstein DVD review     
Morella's Blood Vision DVD review     
The Terror Blu-ray review   

  • or