Elvira's Haunted Hills

Elvira's Haunted Hills is a comedy-horror film set in the Carpathian Mountains in 1851. Elvira, the horror hostess known as Mistress of the Dark, is travelling toward Paris with her maid Zou Zou when a mix-up over money leaves her stranded in a remote village. A local man offers the two women shelter at the castle on the hills above, home to Lord Vladimere Hellsubus, whose long-dead wife bore an unsettling resemblance to Elvira. The stay at the gloomy castle, with its strange household and its rumoured curse, turns into a series of dangerous surprises.

Sam Irvin directed the film, working from a screenplay by John Paragon and Cassandra Peterson, who also plays Elvira and served as producer alongside Mark Pierson. It followed Irvin's earlier features Double Negative and Out There, and came before later television films such as Mothers of the Bride and Christmas Made to Order. Richard O'Brien appears as Lord Vladimere Hellsubus, with Mary Jo Smith as Zou Zou, Mary Scheer as Lady Ema Hellsubus, Scott Atkinson as Dr. Bradley Bradley and Heather Hopper as Lady Roxanna Hellsubus. Peterson's character and material place the film in the tradition of her earlier Elvira comedy.

Made for about two million dollars, the film received a mixed response. On IMDb it holds 5.6 out of 10 from roughly 5,600 votes, while on TMDB it has 5.4 out of 10 from about 160 votes. A critics' rating of 5.4 out of 10 from 14 reviews sits close to the audience scores, suggesting a similar reception on both sides for this low-budget spoof of Gothic horror.