What’s that you say? You’re a Dracula fan? You’re a fan of vampire stories or the classic Universal monsters? You’ve seen all the adaptations of Dracula you can find, including all the really bad ones (of which there are many)?

Ah. But have you seen In Search of Dracula, the 1975 documentary about the Dracula legend narrated by and starring the legendary Christopher Lee?

I thought not.

Out now from Kino Lorber is a new release of the film (from a brand-new 2K master, though you’d honestly never know) that also includes a feature-length commentary by film historians Lee Gambin and John Harrison.

In the film, Christopher Lee traces the historical roots of vampires in general – and the Dracula legend in particular – from the real-life Vlad the Impaler to traditional Romanian folklore to 20th century Hollywood adaptations.

Based on a book by Raymond T. McNally and Radu Florescu, In Search of Dracula is a brief – and fairly surface-level – examination of the legend, complete with plenty of overly dramatic reenactments.

But those reenactments are where the movie “shines.” Christopher Lee not only narrates the documentary but also stars as both Count Dracula (who stares menacingly for a few scenes) and an uncannily accurate Vlad Tepes, “the Impaler.”

Honestly, there’s not much here that hasn’t been covered elsewhere in more depth – and that has held up to time a bit better – but I will admit to learning about Countess Elizabeth Báthory. Accusations of vampirism came later, but Báthory is the Guinness world record holder for “most prolific female murderer.”

During her trial in 1611, she was accused of having tortured and killed upwards of 650 young girls… and literally bathed in their blood. She was ultimately walled into the dungeon of her own castle, and the legends of her vampirism soon grew.

In Search of Dracula is also something of a time capsule. The filmmakers made an effort to be as historically accurate as possible and filmed everything on location across central and eastern Europe. I’m not here to judge its historical authenticity, but the documentary includes numerous scenes filmed in Romania and Hungary (including part of modern-day Slovakia) and captured local customs, dances, and clothing, per the early 1970s.

It’s actually an incredibly fascinating insight into the region and that time. It hit the right buttons to appeal to the anthropologist in me more than it did the movie monster fan in me.

Swedish director Calvin Floyd’s career was remarkably short, with only a handful of credits to his name, though he would go on to produce and direct 1977’s Terror of Frankenstein (starring Per Oscarsson as a Monster straight out of the domestic white terrorist playbook).

Also worth noting is the film was written by Yvonne Floyd, who – in the almost total absence of information about her online – I’m left to assume was Calvin’s wife. Her only writing credits, per IMDb, are the films that Calvin Floyd also directed.

In Search of Dracula is an interesting film that is very much a product of its time. Christopher Lee, at the height of his fame with Hammer’s horror films, chews through this documentary and makes the film worth watching all by himself.