Brought to life by Cassandra Peterson, the character of Elviria is one of the most distinctive from the ‘80s era. Initially a part of The Groundlings Comedy improv group out in Hollywood, the story goes that Peterson learned of a Horror host gig, went into the audition looking like herself, and landed the part. Winning over the casting team with her wit, keen sense of humor, and undeniable charm, there is no doubt that these traits personify Elviria. Matched with imagery of a classic, seductive vampiress, all with a hairdo like one of The Ronettes, Elviria quickly became synonymous with Horror cinema culture.
Hosting Elvira’s Movie Macabre from 1981 to 1986, followed by the home video series ThrillerVideo, from 1985 to 1987, soon an entire generation was familiarized with Elvira. Soon becoming a brand name and Horror icon, the success throughout the decade led to the realization of Elvira’s own film, 1988’s Elvira: Mistress of the Dark. A full-length feature where Elvira is the centralized character, and not just the Horror host, it was everything fans could have asked for.
Unfortunately, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark never had a fair shake in theaters because New World Pictures had filed for bankruptcy just before the release. Resulting in the film only being shown in a quarter of the theaters intended, thus making it more difficult to reach its niche audience. However, it did make its way to VHS and LaserDisc in ’88 and was shown numerous times on television, resulting in Elvira: Mistress of the Dark sustaining a cult-like following decades later. Also having DVD and Blu-ray releases, now in 2024 fans can own Elvira: Mistress of the Dark for the first time in 4K Ultra HD.
Made possible by Arrow Video, the Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD edition arrives on November 12, 2024, and packs together the most complete home video version of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark yet. An upgrade from Arrow Video’s 2020 or 2023 Blu-ray releases. Breaking those down, the 2020 Blu-ray was a 2K scan, and the 2023 was a 4K scan, but on a Blu-ray disc, while this new 2024 edition is a 4K scan onto a 4K Ultra HD disc.
A lot of absorb, and rather confusing, the newest release does feature carry-over special features from the past; such as Too Macabre – The Making of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark and Recipe for Terror: The Creation of the Pot Monster. With this being said, the 4K scan onto the Ultra HD disc offers plenty of rich color and deeper clarity. Detail that depends on how your eyes view it, some may see a major difference between this release and the 4K Blu-ray from 2023 or 2K Blu-ray from 2020, while others may not as much.
All of these matters taken into consideration, you also have a nice reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck, plus an illustrated collector’s booklet which includes writing on the film by Sam Irving, Kat Ellinger, and Patterson Lundquist. Both a part of the prior Arrow Video releases discussed, if you are someone who values the best 4K scan possible, and you obviously own a 4K player, this Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD edition of Elviria: Mistress of the Dark is a must-have. That is why Cryptic Rock gives it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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