Vampira and Me (2012)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
The name Maila Nurmi might not jump out at you but that's because she's better known under her character name of Vampira. This touching and wonderfully detailed documentary takes a look at the life of Nurmi who is probably best remembered today due to her silent performance in Edward D. Wood, Jr.'s PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE but many fans will always remember her as the horror television host who influenced Elvira.
Clocking in just under two hours, it's hard to imagine that any fan would watch this and leave it feeling disappointed. There really wasn't too much known about Vampira but this documentary certainly makes you feel as if you understand everything about her, her character and her rather sad life. The documentary features an interview that the actress gave before she passed away in 2008 and we get to hear her story from her own words. Stories include how the Vampira character came to be, how the show ended, her years of poverty, working with Ed Wood and her notorious relationship with James Dean, a relationship that would have many blaming her for his death.
This is certainly an extremely well-made documentary that features all sorts of terrific information. It was great getting to hear these stories from the woman herself but we're also given some terrific film and television footage. The documentary covers pretty much every aspect of her life and it doesn't shy away from any of the sadness that she felt. Sadly, the majority of the Vampire television show is lost forever with only two minutes of footage surviving and we do get to see that here as well as two other television appearances.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
The name Maila Nurmi might not jump out at you but that's because she's better known under her character name of Vampira. This touching and wonderfully detailed documentary takes a look at the life of Nurmi who is probably best remembered today due to her silent performance in Edward D. Wood, Jr.'s PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE but many fans will always remember her as the horror television host who influenced Elvira.
Clocking in just under two hours, it's hard to imagine that any fan would watch this and leave it feeling disappointed. There really wasn't too much known about Vampira but this documentary certainly makes you feel as if you understand everything about her, her character and her rather sad life. The documentary features an interview that the actress gave before she passed away in 2008 and we get to hear her story from her own words. Stories include how the Vampira character came to be, how the show ended, her years of poverty, working with Ed Wood and her notorious relationship with James Dean, a relationship that would have many blaming her for his death.
This is certainly an extremely well-made documentary that features all sorts of terrific information. It was great getting to hear these stories from the woman herself but we're also given some terrific film and television footage. The documentary covers pretty much every aspect of her life and it doesn't shy away from any of the sadness that she felt. Sadly, the majority of the Vampire television show is lost forever with only two minutes of footage surviving and we do get to see that here as well as two other television appearances.