Well, for anyone who loved her way back when, she’s back; rising from the damp embrace of the crypt for one last bounce around the boneyard. She’s Elvira, Mistress of the Dark® and she’s a rent girl on DVD right now.

Many years ago, Elvira took an honoured position on late night television, presenting old horror movies and poking good-natured fun at them. Anyone familiar with the film Ed Wood may recognise her schtick, and this was indeed a court case several years ago when the original Vampira sued Elvira for stealing her act. This attempt was unsuccessful and so here we have Elvira, finally back from the dead and in her second feature length film.

This one plays a little differently to Elvira – Mistress of the Dark, the 1992 vehicle that was pretty much the last we saw of said Mistress. Whereas that was set today(ish), Haunted Hills is set in the Carpathian mountains of 1851. Travelling with her erstwhile assistant Zou Zou (Mary Jo Smith), Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) accepts a lift from a stranger and they arrive into the castle of Lord Vladimere Hellsubus (played in convincing fashion by Richard O’Brien of Rocky Horror fame). Here they learn it is ten years since his wife’s mysterious suicide, and Elvira just happens to look remarkably like her.

What occurs from thenceforward is every reference to schlock horror and Roger Corman films you can imagine as a tangled web of campy chicanery and tomfoolery plays out within the decaying walls of the ancient castle.

This is just a good fun film for anyone who enjoys the classic Vincent Price movies of the '60s and '70s (in fact the film is dedicated to him). It’s actually (and surprisingly authentically) been shot in Romania and while not always being high art, the performers are having a good time with the silly material. Anyone who enjoyed Elvira’s first big screen outing will enjoy this take on the classics of horror, while anyone unfamiliar with Elvira (after all, it’s been a while) may find themselves getting a few laughs here.

Obviously shot on a limited budget, the setmakers and such have still managed to not make it look completely like a school musical. However, there are moments... but, these only contribute to the affectionate feeling for the cheapo B-graders of the past. Perhaps with this theme in mind, the film is presented in 1.85:1, but unenhanced for wide screens. It works here, so is forgivable.

Picture quality is mostly okay and usually well-lit, even in the deepest recesses of the castle, but the night shots are where the transfer hasn’t been so kind. A fairly heavy grain is apparent on most occasions outdoors by moonlight and this sometimes makes its way into the deeper shadows indoors. Shadow detail remains around moderate for the most part and is actually pretty good considering. Blacks are true, the colour palette is good and flesh tones are fine.

Dialogue is all pretty well spoken, though O’Brien mumbles a little occasionally. Elvira gets most of the best lines though and she delivers them well, garnering more than one good laugh from this reviewer. There are more than enough boob gags, though, I gotta say. I mean, in 11 years she couldn’t write herself something more than a bunch of boob gags? (They’re even in the title for crying out loud!) Oh well. At least we’re used to it. These are accompanied by all manner of old car horns honking (A-rooooga!) and booi-ooi-ooing sounds which all sound fine. (Almost forgot the classic ‘hand-squeaking-on-balloons sound. That gets a good workout.)

One character, (played by a native Romanian who spoke no English) has been badly dubbed to great effect, and according to the featurette (I’ll get to it) almost wasn’t used because they wanted Fabio (yep, the Fabio). He is one of the funnier attributes of this quirky film however, and all the more funny if you’re familiar with the old Sinbad films and such.

Music is perfectly ghoulish with plenty of harpsichord and pipe organs adding their tones to the overall atmosphere, and these get around us a bit in the surrounds too. So do the multiple uses of the castle settling and groaning throughout the night, reminiscent of 1963 classic The Haunting.

And by the way, sound is delivered to us in two formats, as befitting most rentals, with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround or stereo.

A few extras appear to sweeten the blood-letting. Our first is the trailer, delivered in perfect retro B-grade fashion with fading/blurring screen titles and all. Again, 1.85:1 sans 16:9 and running for 1.33.

The making of featurette is interesting and features the first footage I’ve ever seen of Cassanra Peterson being Cassandra Peterson. Which is kinda cool, 'cos she’s still pretty hot. This is again without enhancement, but delivered in 1.78:1 and runs for 22:18. There's plenty of old, very soft-edged/straight from ancient video footage from Corman movies and is a very detailed description of the film’s creation and shortcuts. Well worth the look.

A 6:08 interview on set with Richard O’Brien is next, but this is boring, as the questions are edited out and it’s just him talking on and on about the bloody Rocky Horror Show. Sheesh!

Lastly, a photo gallery fills out the disc with a final shot of Peterson modeling (Sources tell me she began her career as a model). 20 pics here that are mostly stills.

So, a fairly even collection of extras with an eclectic film parodying some of our heartfelt favourites from days gone by. But it doesn’t stop there. Even some more recent classics get a look in with Alien and even Titanic references!

Definitely one for fans, but for anyone else looking for something silly with a bit of Benny Hill style harmless titillation, this is your film. Don’t expect art or logic, just have a laugh.