In the early ’80s actress Cassandra Peterson invented the character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark after being hired by Los Angeles television station KHJ to host their revival of the weekend horror program Fright Night (which had been hosted by Larry Vincent as the character Sinister Seymour). The new show was called Movie Macabre and Elvira became one of the most iconic characters of the decade. In 2010 Peterson revived the Movie Macabre series and two double feature DVDs from the first season have been released (with plenty more planned in the near future).
The first volume features the films Night of the Living Dead and I Eat Your Skin. To be perfectly honest I wasn’t looking forward to watching Night of the Living Dead because part of Elvira’s role as host is to add a running commentary that often lampoons the various weaknesses of the film being shown. Night of the Living Dead is one of my favorite films and the last thing I wanted to do was hear is someone trying to lampoon it. Thankfully Peterson offers up her least intrusive commentary and spends most of her time redecorating her crypt (basement).
I Eat Your Skin (AKA Zombies, Zombie Bloodbath or Voodoo Bloodbath) is a particularly silly film from 1964 about a novelist that visits a remote island to research voodoo. What he finds is a mad scientist, a beautiful girl and an army bloodthirsty zombies (but no cannibals). There’s a reason why this film sat on a shelf for six years before being pared up with the much more violent I Drink Your Blood (thus the title change) for its theatrical release. It’s terrible, but it is certainly entertaining.
The second volume contains The Satanic Rites of Dracula and The Werewolf of Washington. Frankly neither film, with or without the Elvira commentary, is any good. The Satanic Rites of Dracula (AKA Dracula is Dead and Well Living in London or Count Dracula and his Vampire Bride) is the least appealing film from Hammer Horror despite the fact that it stars Peter Cushing as Van Helsing and Christopher Lee as Dracula. I suppose I should point out that the film’s nudity has been blurred out.
The Werewolf of Washington stars Dean Stockwell as a press assistant to the president of the United States of America that happens to be a werewolf. If you like political satires you might find enjoyment in the film but as a horror comedy it lacks laughs or charm.