In Search of Dracula Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

In Search of Dracula Blu-ray Movie Review

A "documentary" on the blood-thirsty Dracula

A documentary exploring the roots of the fanged-vampire Dracula in popular culture and beyond, In Search of Dracula focuses on the iconic legend of the silver screen. The documentary production is executive produced by Alvar Domeij (Secret Stockholm) and is based on the book written by Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally. Featuring narration by Tor Isedal, In Search of Dracula is aimed squarely at vampire enthusiasts (young and old).

The feature delves into Dracula right from the get-go and the documentary production tackles the mythologized figure as if the production were a educational production. There are sequences of bloodsucking Dracula himself (with the great Christopher Lee portraying Drac for the film). A beautiful, young, and passionate Solveig Andersson takes on a supporting role. The duo add an interesting element of charisma to an otherwise by-the-books show.

Though the documentary aims to be an insightful exploration of Dracula, there were moments during the film in which I felt the filmmaking more closely resembled that of a mockumentary than a true documentary production. Even without the obvious humorous nods of mockumentaries, it might fundamentally be that the source-material and the approach simply lends itself to feeling this way. Nothing about the film screams “serious filmmaking” and some viewers might feel this is the best approach: B-movie galore.

"You look... scared. Have you seen Twilight?"

The visuals are one of the greater strengths of the filmmaking here: the cinematography by Anders Bodin (Eva & Kristina), Tony Forsberg (The White Lioness), and Gunnar Larsson gives the film enough eerie undercurrents to keep things visually interesting. Though the film isn't ever scary (unsurprising given the filmmaking approach), the darker visuals are well-suited to Dracula. Throughout the entire experience, the visuals are key to the exploration of the legend. If other production elements underwhelmed significantly, the visuals were at least somewhat involving.

The screenplay written by Yvonne Floyd (The Shot, Sams) is unfortunately underwhelming. The narration often feels stiff without enough interesting tidbits to keep viewers engaged. Though a film exploring Dracula sounds enticing on paper, the results defy expectations: this is a dull, boring, and lifeless exercise in most respects. (Some might call it “fitting” given Dracula is the subject-matter at hand). There are several sequences of women wearing little clothing with narration that doesn't help explain the legend of Dracula at all. (The dull storytelling even leads up to a scene with a naked lady riding horseback across the outdoor fields).

Calvin Floyd (The Terror of Frankenstein, The Sleep of Death) directs the film as though it were an educational video. The approach is questionable: the entire film is rooted in B-movie lore and yet everything about the film feels like a made-for-the-classroom experience. Dim the lights, teacher. Education is upon us! Floyd is misguided in his approach to the film: outside of his attempts at showcasing beautiful ladies as much as humanly possible, the director forgets that audiences want to be entertained with the history of Dracula (not put to eternal sleep). There's just not much to sink one's teeth into.

In Search of Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray for the first time worldwide from Kino Lorber, In Search of Dracula features a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation in a 1.37:1 full-frame aspect ratio. The release showcases a brand new 2K master of the film. There are some obvious benefits: the scan showcases the film without the drawback of egregious print damage. There are few signs of any damage or scratches to the film.

This is a naturalistic image and one that likely looks better than ever before. The image is stable as well (and does not suffer from annoying telecine wobble). If there is a drawback, it's that the color palette of the film is somewhat muted and never a great showcase: blacks seem a bit less robust than ideal and have a grayish quality to them and there are never any scenes that "pop" with color (though given the subject matter, viewers might not mind too much). A generally solid presentation.

In Search of Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented with a DTS-HD Master Audio mono soundtrack. The lossless audio mix is an acceptable high-resolution presentation of the material. The track never sounds as crisp or dynamic as modern productions can sound but it is similarly never muffled or too coarse. Dialogue reproduction (with the narration) is key to the sound and the track is sufficient in reproducing the key ingredients. Music is never robust on the mono mix but sounds reasonably crisp given the lossless encoding. A decent, if somewhat short-of-perfection audio track.

Optional English subtitles are provided.

In Search of Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary featuring film historians Lee Gambin and John Harrison

The release also includes a selection of trailers showcasing other releases available from distributor Kino Lorber: The Crimson Cult (HD, 2:04), The Oblong Box (SD, 1:56), Scream and Scream Again (SD, 2:21), Arabian Adventure (SD, 2:54), and House of the Long Shadows (SD, 2:28).

In Search of Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While the thought of a Dracula documentary exploring the roots of one of the most iconic figures in pop culture lexicon sounds outstanding, the results are far less successful: director Calvin Floyd is misguided in thinking that a serious approach works well with B-movie material (and the film is something that borders on mockumentary). In Search of Dracula feels overly-serious for a film fundamentally rooted in a blood-sucking vampire. (Or conversely, perhaps it simply isn't serious enough to handle the material to the best of its abilities). The "documentary" is underwhelming and doesn't add much to the conversation. On the bright side, the Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber is respectable and has decent video-audio and an audio commentary track for those interested. For fans only.