Customer Reviews

Elvira's Box of Horrors

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is great to see Elvira making appearances on DVD again.
Unfortunatly, the video quality of the DVD's leave something to be desired.

I have a High definition TV and when I played the "House on Haunted Hill" DVD the video quality was terrible!
Nothing like the single "House on Haunted Hill" DVD issued earlier, which is crisp and clear.

The movies in this DVD set seem to be of a poorer quality than their single release DVD counterparts.

If you like to see Elvira, then this set is ok, but if video quality matters to you, I'd suggest that you get the original DVD releases instead.

For only $30 bucks, I picked this little gem up today and I recomend this for all Elvira Fans.

First, I didn't know it was being released, I just saw it on the new release shelf and thankfully had the money.

I thought these were just DVD copies of Elviras Old Movie Macabe. Where she gave a hilarious opening intro to the film, and an equally funny, ending segment. Elvira's appearance time itself was only about 5 mins per movie, and thats kind of stayed the same, but what I was supprised at was that all the Elvira in this DVD set was newly filmed.

I expected the host segments would be the same ones simply filmed in the 80s from the movie macabe.

nope, Casandra Peterson filmed all new openings and ending segments just for this DVD set. Its obivous because the picture Quality is greatly increased and Elvira makes some cracks about DVDs. So all this is deffinitly new.

Whats more interesting, is that before she would only host the movie before and after, now she appears periodically throughout the film giving snappy one liners. So now you have a reason to watch the films instead of skipping to the end.

I think thought they should have advertised Newly Filmed Segments on it, becuase many others will just think its a rerelease of her old footage.

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the downsides. unfortunettly that there are some.

The segements that intercut with Elvira are inserted into the film digitally, so there is this distracting 1-2 sec delay, like the DVD stops playing. Its a technical thing, but its distracting enough to make you forget what was previously said, and ruins Elvira's jokes by making them fall flat at times.


another downside to the new technolgy is the more powerful camera. Casandra is pushing past 50 right now, and she is working wonders, but having high quality footage really shows off her age. You can tell she uses every make up trick to hide it, but its noticebale, and kind of sad almost. She came off much more convincing ten + years ago. also, her jokes aren't as funny, in Movie Macabe she would do alot of things with props and gimicks like a KFC buket or a telescope, kind of like a plot in itself. thats seemingly missing, and the set piece she uses is very boring. It lacks the atmosphere and details her previous ones had.

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The problems are just minor ones, the set is still hillarious, and well, at 50, we are lucky Cassandra will still do things with Elvira. Heck at this point, anything having to deal with Elvira and the word new is a rare thing. That alone warrants a purchase from Elvira Fans.

Parody Queen of All Media and Mistress of The Dark, the immutable Elvira returns with this ghoulish offering, presenting such Horror classics as The Little Shop of Horrors, Night of the Living Dead, House on Haunted Hill, The Brain the Wouldn't Die, and Carnival of Souls. These may already be in one's possession, but for those who do not yet own these marvellous bits of sinematgraphic arcana, it is well worth the acquisition.

Unfortunately. Movie Macabre is not yet in circulation, as fantoms have been awaiting this hopefully impending release, filled with her salaciously morbid wit and seductive charm, with that seemingly paradoxical "valley girl" attitude. For a time, there were VHS releases entitled "Thriller Video" featuring the Vampiric Vixen, which has since sunk into obscurity, yet may still be available at certain libraries, where I was fortunate enough to find several of the shows, as well as two original copies from an acquaintance.

Her image and persona has certainly been the inspiration for subsequent dark darlings such as the luscious Ivonna Cadaver who hosts Macabre Theatre with Butch "Eddie Munster" Patrick, quite the Morticia-like looker herself; Morticia, who may have actually inspired Elvira, both of whom were obviously inspired by Vampira {Plan 9 From Outer Space}, the original silver-screen dark lady of the night.

Elvira, the well-endowed horror movie hostess with the mostess, accompanies you through six all time (ahem) classic horror films from the 50s and 60s, including:

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL - Vincent Price stars as eccentric Mr Loren, who invites some people to stay the night in a haunted mansion. This is probably the best film from director William Castle's series of gimmicky schlocker epics. With Carol Ohmart and Carolyn Craig providing the all-important eye-candy. The skeleton in the acid-pit...the blood dripping from the ceiling...the old crone...good times.

THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE - Poor Virginia Leith's decapitated head is kept alive on a baking-tray in this 1963 marvel.

DEMENTIA 13 - Believe it or not, Francis Ford Coppola's official directorial debut; the story of a series of axe murders in Ireland. With Luana Anders and William Campbell.

THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD - George A. Romero's zombie masterpiece. Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and a hotchpotch group of nit-wits find themselves battling for their lives when an army of zombies attack.

CARNIVAL OF SOULS - Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) perishes when her car crashes into a river...or does she? Herk Harvey's eerie story of a girl pursued by an ashen-faced ghoul.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS - Roger Corman's gleeful black comedy with Mel Welles, Jackie Joseph and Jonathan Haze. Mild-mannered Seymour Krelborn (Haze) is driven to murder in order to support a giant plant's particular food fetish.

Elvira hosts these films in her own hilarious fashion, and also pops up during the films themselves to offer more quips and remarks..so there is no excuse to nod off (though, granted, doctors prescribe these movies to people who suffer from insomnia). Camp it up with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark in this great-value set from Time Life!

i have loved elvira since the first time i viewed her on tv. she can do no wrong

I've got to be one of the biggest Elvira fans so this is a dream come true or rather a nightmare come ture. Unpleasent dreams to all that buy this it's worth it! Now if the realase the Movie Macabre series will only come to dvd!

I got this DVD for Halloween and they have a lot of cool movies I haven't seen before. I love the variety and how Elvira makes it a little more barable to watch. There's even a feature where you can watch the movie by itself. It comes in handy. This is a must if you want to watch old horror movies and just good cheesy fun.

I love Elvira but this set of videos is pretty crummy. Every time she pops on the screen, the video literally stops...Elvira pops up with her witty quip and the video stops again before returning to the movie. It really sucks. If that were the only problem, I could probably live with just watching the movies without her commentary (and make my own). Unfortunately, the video is pretty poopy as well. The sound is so muffled you can't understand a word of what is happening and there is no option for subtitles; so if you are hearing impaired it is a definite pass. I'm happy to have this in the collection, but it will only collect dust.

I am (or at least once was) a big Elvira fan. I even went to see her perform live, twice, at Knott's Scary Farm in Orange County, CA. So it is with some regret that I give this sloppy compilation only two stars. Four of the six movies in the set are actually pretty decent, and one - Night of the Living Dead - is even considered a classic. But two - Brain, and Dementia 13 - are rabid stinkers, and even Elvira's campy comments can't make them watchable. Plus, the print quality of these movies varies from mediocre to poor. If you like creepy old movies, go get high-quality prints of "Living Dead" and "Carnival of Souls" and skip this mish-mash!

Plots:
HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL: Vincent Price has one of his juiciest roles in this haunted-house thriller as millionaire playboy Frederick Loren, who invites five guests out to a genuine haunted house, offering them each $10,000 if they spend the night. Severed heads, a skeleton, an acid vat, ghostly screams, and a noose that creeps around on its own and strangles unsuspecting victims are just some of the treats in a film that has been spooking delighted audiences on late-night TV for decades.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: Seven people secluded in a Pennsylvania farmhouse face relentless attacks by reanimated corpses seeking to eat their flesh. The group, which includes a married couple and their daughter, a pair of young lovers, and an African-American man, try to keep their sanity as the living dead try endlessly to enter the house.

THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE: A boorish doctor who has devised a way to bring the dead back to life gets into a car accident and kills his beautiful fiancee; he takes her severed head back to the lab with him and keeps it alive in a tray of serum. She is unhappy with the situation and begs him to let her die, but he embarks upon a search for the perfect body for his amour, visiting strip clubs and streetwalkers and scouring the city. Meanwhile, the fiancee discovers that a side effect of her current status is telepathy, and she begins to communicate with the doctor's "mistake," which is held captive in a locked room off the lab. With the monster's help, the bodyless woman manages to save the life of the doctor's chosen victim and burn the lab down in the process.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS: Jonathan Haze stars as clumsy assistant florist Seymour, who saves his job in Mr. Mushnik's skid-row flower shop when he brings in a unique man-eating plant. The problem is, it's a very hungry plant; every night it opens its huge jaws and demands to be fed, forcing poor Seymour to take to the street in search of victims, lest he disappoint his boss and his adoring girlfriend, Audrey (Jackie Joseph).

CARNIVAL OF SOULS: Made in 1962 in Lawrence, Kansas for very little money, Harvey's CARNIVAL OF SOULS has become legendary for it's ability to create a tensely creepy atmosphere with virtually no special effects. A young woman (Hilligoss) is involved in a car crash when her car falls off a bridge while drag racing with some friends. After she pulls herself from the river, she moves to a new town to take a job as a church organist. Meanwhile, a distinctly eerie and hollow-faced man in a black suit seems to be following her wherever she goes. The effective organ score enhances the film to great effect.

DEMENTIA 13: Francis Ford Coppola's directorial debut, produced by horror king Roger Corman, is a terror-filled tale of family ties chopped to pieces. Set in a spooky Irish castle, DEMENTIA 13 begins as the Haloran family gathers to memorialize the death of the youngest sister, Kathleen. While various family members plot and connive, an ax murderer is terrorizing the grounds, and Kathleen's body shows up at just the wrong time. Slowly, the family members become increasingly suspicious of each other--as well as of the ghosts that haunt the castle. But when the sinister family doctor is called in to help with the mystery, the expertly planned Coppola chills really take hold.

This is great to have if you are a Elvira fan. Fun, corny, bad jokes,and B-movies.