Elvira's Haunted Hills (2001)

 

For those not familiar with the character of Elvira: she was a horrorshow hostess, played by Cassandra Peterson. This used to be a staple of late night tv in the USA, where before the role was played by Vampira. But when this sort of show was resurrected, Elvira took over. The idea is that a buxom, funny and slightly ditzy hostess would have some sort of short comedy sketch and then introduce whichever film was scheduled. This is something that never quite caught on in Europe, alas. Miss Peterson made the role completely her own and even got two films out of it, of which this is the second. 

Elvira and her handmaiden Zou Zou (yes, she is supposedly French) are heading to Paris to star in a vaudeville show, but they are still in Carpathia in 1851. They are picked up by a carriage and taken to Castle Hellsubus, where the inhabitants are all rather odd. The count is extremely sensitive to sights and sounds, his niece is cataleptic and always sick and the castle itself tends to shudder and shake. Elvira also meets a handsome stable hand who speaks in dubbed English.

Yes, the jokes are all over the place, with anachronisms, fourth-wall breaks and classic "Oo-er!" style trappings. 

If you don't know what that means: it's spicy, slightly erotic jokes but never crude or blatant, more like titillating. Pretty much like Elvira's cleavage, one could say. 

Hijinks ensues and there are a lot of references to classic tropes of horrorfilms and literally everyone plays it tongue-in-cheek and hams it up to eleven. Richard O'Brien is especially a hoot to watch as he plays Vladimere Hellsubus and is so over the top it's hilarious. Not all of the jokes land, but mostly this is a silly yet fun comedy that never takes itself seriously. It's pretty much take-it-or-leave-it: not everyone will have a fondness for this and it might not be a good enough film to be remembered. But there's no mistaking that this is a lot of fun if you're in the mood for it and Cassandra Peterson is truly charismatic and fun as Elvira, as she made the part completely her own. 

So if you want it silly and harmless, then this could be your thing.