Horror hosts aren’t really a thing over here in Australia,
but it seems there was a time where every local TV station in the USA had one
of their own. Typically serving as campy gateway figures to introduce audiences
to crappy old horror and sci-fi films, in many cases they’re more entertaining
than the actual films they were hosting. A handful went on to become
international celebrities, like Vampira – though to be fair, a lot of that
really had to do with her work with Ed Wood.
But probably the best-known to horror fans the world over is
the subject of today’s review – Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Portrayed by
Cassandra Peterson, I’m not actually sure that she’s ever been broadcast on
Australian TV, but a couple of YouTube videos confirmed pretty much what I
expected – silly comments about the films being shown, bad puns and double
entendres. But she does it with more style and panache than many of her contemporaries,
and Cassandra Peterson has turned herself into a global brand as a result.
Typically, I can appreciate Mystery Minis and POPs as
separate entities; they’re both striving for different aesthetics and they
should be treated as such. But sometimes one really outshines the other, and in
this case I think the Mystery Mini is substantially better. Though the POP is
not bad, it suffers by comparison; the large head coupled with the large hair
is a little too much, and the paint on small details like her dagger and nails
are a bit sloppy. In her favour is that they’ve done a nice paint job on her
face; it captures the pale skintone very nicely.
Nonetheless, if you’re a horror POP collector, she’s still a
great addition to the shelf. There’s no doubt that Elvira is a horror icon, and
considering how many horror-related POPS I own, I figure they need a good host
to accompany them.
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