Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 8, 2024

Just in case your Halloween celebrations haven't ended yet, Arrow is revisiting their 1080 release of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark with a new 4K UHD version that preserves the enjoyable supplements of the first release and which offers a new 4K restoration of the film.

For my thoughts on Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, please head over to my Elvira: Mistress of the Dark Blu-ray review.

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: This release does not include a 1080 Blu-ray, so these screenshots are taken from the 4K UHD disc and downscaled to 1080 and SDR. Color space in particular is therefore not accurate, and I recommend those interested to look at some of the screenshots in our Elvira: Mistress of the Dark Blu-ray review for a probably better representation of the palette. Since this release does not include a 1080 disc, the 2K video score above has been intentionally left blank.

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with stereo audio.

An original 35mm interpositive was scanned in 4K 16 bit resolution at Fotokem, Burbank. The film was restored in 4K and graded in HDR10 at R3Store Studios, London. Dolby Vision grading was completed by Fidelity in Motion, New York.

The original stereo mix was supplied by lakeshore Entertainment. Audio remastering mix was completed by Þorsteinn Gíslason.

This is an appealing looking presentation, though those averse to sometimes very chunky, yellow grain may want to prepare themselves. While I hadn't really noticed this in Arrow's 1080 presentation, the increased resolution of this 4K UHD disc vis a vis a sometimes undeniably thick grain field made me wonder if perhaps the entire first ten minutes or so might be part of a (needlessly) extended optical to handle the credits. Things do improve in terms of tightness of grain resolution shortly after the credits end, but there are still some pretty mottled looking sequences, including some relatively well lit material in Elvira's mansion. The palette offers some really nice pops and appealing highlights courtesy of HDR / Dolby Vision, and some of the nighttime material, like Elvira's date or even some of the vignettes in her house have improved shadow detail. Some of that darker material arguably has a bit more of a blue to purplish hue in this version than in the 1080 release. Detail levels probably enjoy at least marginal upticks, especially with regard to texturing on some of the sets and costumes.

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As sometimes kind of weirdly tends to be the case with Arrow releases, this new 4K disc features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track in place of the older 1080 disc's LPCM 2.0 track. Otherwise, though, I'd personally be hard pressed to identify any differences between the two. No matter the codec, this is an often boisterous track that capably supports some of the fun source cues, as well as the big "song and dance" by Elvira that caps the film. Dialogue and effects are also rendered clearly without any problems whatsoever. The stereo imaging is actually rather nicely realized, especially in some of the effects sequences, where kind of ironically the visual element isn't always mind blowing. Fidelity is fine throughout the presentation, and due to the kind of gonzo proclivities of the story and characters, dynamic range is rather wide as well. Optional English subtitles are available. Optional English subtitles are available.

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Too Macabre: The Making of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (HD; 1:37:04) is listed as being a "newly revised" version of this feature length exploration into both the film and the character. It's a lot of fun, with a bunch of engaging interviews.


• Recipe for Terror: The Creation of the Pot Monster (HD; 22:13) is also listed as being "newly revised" and gets into both the gonzo "food creature" sequence as well as some of the other SFX.


• Image Galleries

  Production Stills (HD; 14:40)

  Behind the Scenes (HD; 5:10)

  SFX (HD; 11:10)

  Original Storyboards (HD; 4:31)

  New York City Premiere (HD; 1:10)

  Miscellaneous (HD; 1:30)

• Original US Trailer (HD; 1:49)


• Original Teaser Trailer (HD; 1:05)


• Director's Intro (HD; 1:10). Wow. Perhaps you've heard, especially if you listened to the commentary track on the Blu-ray, about the almost insane number of takes it took of Nancy Sinatra singing the theme to You Only Live Twice for John Barry to be able to cobble together a usable version (and this was obviously way before things like ProTools, which makes the process of comping a vocal relatively easy). All I can say is James Signorelli does the verbal equivalent here in a kind of amazing but also maybe revelatory display. This can be found under the Play Menu.


• Audio Commentary with Cassandra Peterson, Edie McClurg and John Paragon


• Audio Commentary with James Signorelli and Tony Timpone


• Audio Commentary with Patterson Lundquist

As is standard operating practice with Arrow, a nicely appointed insert booklet is also included. Packaging features a slipcover.

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is an admittedly uneven enterprise, one that may simply not be able to overcome what is kind of an inherent toughness of its titular character (and, yes, I just said titular). The film has some amusing moments along the way, but it also misses the bullseye on regular occasions. This is another 4K UHD release where the increased resolution can offer a probably substantially thicker looking grain field a lot of the time, but HDR / Dolby Vision also add some new luster. As with the original 1080 release, the supplements are very appealing, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.