Tubi Tuesday: Elvira’s Haunted Hills (2002)

Though underseen, “Elvira’s Haunted Hills” is a campy, fun tribute to gothic horror that hasn’t lost any of its charm.

Everyone’s favorite Mistress of the Dark, the undisputed Queen of Halloween, returned in a straight-to-video 2002 horror fun fest, Elvira’s Haunted Hills.

Oddly enough, it had been 13 years since Elvira first graced the big screen in 1988’s Elvira: Mistress of the Dark. I remember seeing this on video around Halloween time and not hesitating to purchase it. I was glad to find it on Tubi and revisit Elvira’s campy, underrated second adventure.

In Elvira’s Haunted Hills, we find Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) traveling through the Carpathian mountains in the year 1851. She and her servant, Zou Zou (Mary Jo Smith), are on their way to a can-can revue in Paris. After fleeing an inn without paying, the two stop to rest on a desolate road, where they’re soon picked up by a mysterious castle.

The one occupant in the carriage is Dr. Bradley Bradley (Scott Atkinson), who is on his way to Castle Hellsubus. With nowhere else to go, Elvira follows him to the castle, where she meets the eccentric Hellsubus family, who suffer from “the Hellsubus Curse,” which is never clearly defined.

Lord Hellsubus (Richard O’Brien) has an extreme sensitivity to sound. Lady Roxanna (Heather Hopper) has coughing spells and faints at the sight of…well…everything. Then there’s Lady Ema Hellsubus (Mary Scheer), Lord Hellsubus’s melodramatic and suspicious second wife.

Lord Hellsubus’s first wife, Elura, committed suicide, and Elvira looks exactly like her.

Written by Peterson and longtime collaborator John Paragon and directed by Sam Irvin, Elvira’s Haunted Hills is a perfect spoof of 1960s horror films.

The plot is a patchwork quilt that incorporates every horror cliche we can think of.

There’s the eccentric, mysterious lord of the manor, who is perfectly played by Richard O’Brien (The Rocky Horror Picture Show). He and his young niece both suffer from a mysterious genetic malady. And there’s the Lord’s mysterious first wife, who died tragically.

The cast is flawless and complements each other perfectly.

First, I have to say that being a fan of both The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Elvira, seeing O’Brien and Peterson onscreen together is an absolute dream come true. They are great together.

Peterson has flawless rapport with everyone in the cast. She and Smith, as Zou Zou, make a great comedic pair.

Rounding out the cast are Hopper, Atkinson, and Scheer, who fit seamlessly into very exaggerated and eccentric characters and pull off their performances flawlessly. Everything in this film fits seamlessly with the tone – cartoony, campy, and fun.

Elvira’s Haunted Hills may not be everyone’s cup of tea. There are a lot of sight gags, puns, and slapstick. If you like that type of humor and enjoy ’60s horror, I highly recommend this fun film.

It’s a cleverly executed spoof of gothic horror that’s both playful and loving.