mosquitodragon’s review published on Letterboxd:
"Lucky for you, I come with my own air bags!"
Yes, of course, this is Elvira, so you know there's more boob jokes per square foot than any sane person could possibly account for. But why would you?
Farce is an epically unfashionable style of comedy and has been for quite some time - certainly in 2001 when Elvira's Haunted Hills hoved into view over the horizon. I'd go so far as to say that most people when confronted with the comedy stylings of this movie would just groan and move on, but I can't help but have an affection for its evocation of simpler times. This is the sort of comedy that requires you to check your sophisticated affectation at the door and to just be willing to get in on the idiotic joke. Obviously, as a man with no sense of embarrassment, I am the perfect audience.
Oh, yeah, and there's the obvious fact that Cassandra Peterson is a treasure and I will watch anything she appears in. She was about 50 when this film was released and I love the fact that she was totally confident in producing a film in which the sex appeal of her character is fundamental to the schtick. Mainstream Hollywood can take a hike - the devoted horror fanbase has always transcended the sort of surface level discrimination which would have prevented this in any other comedy sub-genre.
Despite the lack of familiar faces in the cast (excepting Richard O'Brien who goes enthusiastically over the top), they all do a terrific job hamming it up with gusto. Sure, the sets are a little creaky, but there's a charming cartoon-gothic vibe to the production. It just felt good to watch something so genuine and gormless in its complete lack of pretension - especially after having to endure the beyond-cynical vacuity of Ghostbusters: Afterlife earlier in the evening. Nothing as tasteless as boob jokes there - just shameless exploitation of Harold Ramis' death to try and manufacture audience goodwill. I personally find boobs far less offensive than that sort of bullshit.
"Elvira is soon to be one of gay Paree's foremost entertainers!"
"But the straight guys like me, too."
