Vampira: The Movie

I just finished watching this documentary. It looks very promising in the beginning. You see names such as Jerry Only and Sid Haig in the opening credits, then it quickly falls flat as it unravels in this collage of dull interviews that look like they were randomly glued together but lacking an elemental connection to each other.

Having seen other interviews with Vampira, it's fairly easy to tell she was not looking her best in here. She looks a bit annoyed at some point. But Maila Nurmi can never be boring and her stories are always amusing. The director had plenty material he could have worked with, but he didn't. The interviews were roughly edited. The soundtrack choice is just as poor. To add insult to injury, for most of the movie, you're forced to hear what seems to be a sample of real bad techno music on repeat in the background.

If you're looking for a more enlightening Vampira experience, I recommend the entertaining 'Vampira and me.' and the poignant 'Vampira, about Sex, Death and Taxes.'

Very interesting and entertaining documentary on the life and career of Maila Nurmi who achieved cult fame as the very first and most famous female TV horror film host, Vampira in the mid 1950's as well as her famous brief appearance as the Ghoul Woman in Edward D, Wood Jr.'s infamous cult movie, Plan 9 From Outer Space. Ms Nurmi appears in a very rare appearance in person talking about her life and career and her associations with acquaintances such as Edward D. Wood Jr., James Dean and Marlon Brando.There is also interviews with Forest Ackerman, TV horror hosts Zacherly, Penny Dreadful and Svenghoulie, horror icons, Debbie Rochon, Sid Haig, Bill Mosely and Julie Strain as well as a rare interview with Cassandra Peterson aka Elvira talking about the Vampira-Elvira lawsuit. But despite the interesting material about Vampira in the film, this film has serious flaws especially in the editing and it lacks a strong narrative structure( a narrator like Zacherly himself(as being a TV Horror film host himself) would have done wonders for this documentary although the director in the audio commentary on the DVD of Vampira The Movie disagrees) and there is precious little footage of Vampira doing has her TV 50's show on the documentary( there is one existing kinetescope of one episode of Vampira's show, that could have been used more on this documentary for greater effect, instead of the few seconds that appear in this documentary which the director states that was the only original Vampira material he could get his hands on. But there are video clips on YouTube of Vampira with Liberace on her show that's not on his documentary as well as other Vampira clips.) But the documentary has a satire reenactment of Plan 9 that is hilarious and all in all, this documentary is a good but not great homage that gives much deserved recognition of Vampira, her career and influence on popular culture.

If you've ever been curious about who Vampira is and how her presence has affected the genre of goth/horror film, this DVD has the answers. Glamor-goul Vampira as she is today walks you through how it all began; and how films changed her life. She was WAY ahead of her time, and this shockumentary is a fantastic chronicle of her journey with insights and commentary from a host of goulish actors, musicians, filmmakers, etc. There's lots of reflection on her appearance in Ed Wood's film "Plan 9 From Outer Space". This is clearly a DVD made by a knowledgeable fan of old horror films who brings many of the names of horror-hosts old and new to one fascinating discussion on the Queen of Horror! At the end of the shockumentary, we get the chance to listen to the filmmakers and how they brought it all together. If you like horror films and are fascinated on how it all began, you'll enjoy this immensely.

I was blown away by the substance of this documentary of extremely rare and vanishing information on Maila Nurmi a.k.a. Vampira. One thing you would never expect--and the disk is worth it for this alone--is the many sage lessons in life that Maila shares. The sequences come together in a tight weave of insights from those who knew her before her fame, and tributes from her horror host "descendants," almost none of whom have ever been coaxed to talk before. But the main star, as it should be, is Maila herself, breaking new ground in dramatic fresh interviews, and never-told stories.

Just like when any cult hero gets honored, we can only be amazed by how many stalkers and frauds with an ax to grind come out of the woodwork to say they should been the ones interviewed instead of the more relevant people and Vampira confidants chosen to be in the film. But that's just an interesting back story that surfaced. What I notice is that the documentary doesn't try to be the be-all and end-all encyclopedia on the subject. I'm thankful for that because it doesn't get caught up in the repetition of things seen elsewhere that an all-encompassing tome would bring. While there is a sliver of necessary overlap, the truth is the film is packed with anecdotes and analysis that obviously doesn't exist anywhere else. The documentary is also worth it for the extras alone, mostly Count Smokula's hilarious tribute song "Vampira." The packaging of the disk itself adds to the mystique, perfectly capturing her life and times, and helping to make it a must-own collector's treasure.