Fantastic Fest 2024 – Near the end of Jon Spira’s documentary The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee, the famed actor disputes a “king of horror” label from a British reporter. This occurred when Lee was knighted in 2009. As Spira’s film shows, Lee felt uneasy about being tagged solely as a horror actor, most famously as Dracula in the various Hammer films. Spira’s documentary illustrates Lee’s long career, including his friendships with other icons like Vincent Price and Peter Cushing.

Let’s get something out of the way first. Peter Serafinowicz narrates the documentary and sounds remarkably like Lee, who died in 2015. In fact, it’s uncanny. It’s possible some viewers may dislike having a voice actor pose as Lee, who’s portrayed throughout the runtime as a puppet. Yet, it’s an interesting way to narrate the documentary. It does feel like Lee’s telling you his life story. The film also boasts some big genre names, including directors Joe Dante and John Landis. They share an array of stories about their friendship with Lee. These anecdotes, especially the ones from Landis, portray Lee as a humble actor, despite his family’s aristocratic background.

The film first covers Lee’s family history. Then, it shifts to address his top-secret WWII service.  Even Landis, when drinking with Lee, couldn’t get the actor to divulge what exactly he did for the Allied Powers. Again, it’s these anecdotes that really humanize an otherwise larger-than-life cultural figure.

Of course, Spira’s film tackles the golden era of Hammer horror and Lee’s multiple performances as Dracula.  Yet, the documentary doesn’t dwell on it. Lee’s career spanned many decades. The late 1950s/1960s Hammer era was only part of it. Spira reminds viewers that Lee starred in artsy horror films, too. He worked with international directors like Mario Bava and Spanish director Jess Franco on El Conde Dracula, for instance.

Most importantly, the documentary reminds fans that Lee’s career had highs and lows, including a few resurrections, hence the film’s title. The doc’s tail end addresses Lee’s role in major franchises, playing Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels and Saruman in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies. There’s an interesting tidbit about halfway through the film recounting how Lee met LOTR’s author JRR Tolkien in a pub. Lee, a huge fan of the novels, was so star-struck that he barely said more than hello. Jackson’s commentary on working with Lee is another highlight.

Even though Lee shied away from the “horror king” label and grew tired of playing Dracula, there’s plenty here for genre fans to enjoy. The stories regarding Lee’s friendships with other genre icons, like Price and Cushing, are fascinating and heartwarming.  Horror fans will eat these tidbits right up.

If the documentary has any fault, it’s that it feels too short. Lee’s career was so expansive that trying to condense it to under two hours feels like a cheat. Time spent on Lee’s role in The Wicker Man is reduced to maybe a minute or two, at best, for example. I rarely say this, but this film would have benefited from being just a little longer.

The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee reminds us that though Lee broke out as Dracula, his storied career featured many more roles. Though known for villainous characters, Lee comes across as a humble actor, even at conclusion of his career. This documentary is a fitting and moving tribute to an iconic actor.