Horror fans know for a fact that vampires of all sorts have become so popular in these last 10 years that we are not surprised at all by most new vampire movies.
More often than not, they fail to break new ground, be it due to lazy screenwriting or because they are plainly formulaic — and not in a good way. But what if there was a seriously funny documentary on these bloodsuckers that could even change the way you view them?
What if they came out of the shadows to show you what their everyday life is like? What if you realized they are not that different from you, after all? Now there is such a movie.
Winner of Best Film in the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto film fest and the Audience Award at Sitges, written and directed by New Zealanders Jemaine Clement (from the television series Flight of the Conchords) and Taika Waititi, What We Do in the Shadows is an ever surprising, exceptionally witty and hilarious mockumentary about four hundredsomething vampires — Vladislav, a mediaeval count; Deacon, a 19th century peasant; Viago, an 18th century dandy; and Petyr, an ancient version of Nosferatu — who share a flat in Wellington as they do their best to cope with everyday dilemmas.
That is to say, what do you do if by mistake you hit the main artery in your victim’s neck? How do you dress properly for a party if you don’t have a mirror reflection? How do you get into a night club if you’re not invited? What’s the best way to introduce a newly-made vampire to the ups and downs of eternal life? Is it possible to protect your human friends from being eaten by vampire flatmates?
Starring Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh, and Cori González-Macuer, What We Do in the Shadows takes the mockumentary subgenre to a whole new level: it not only is perfectly shot in a deliberate imperfect style typical of a low-budget documentary, but it also becomes an amusingly nuanced character study of immortal souls trying to figure out what a good vampire ought to be like today.
Chances were that such an undertaking would probably consist of a just series of smartly connected skits, at best.
But Clement and Waititi know better than that and have created a close-knit narrative with a character driven story that goes beyond a mere sum of funny scenes. I mean, you even get to care about these vampires in a very humanistic way — pun intended.
The escalating verbal and visual gags are right on cue, they always make sense, and you can hardly see them coming, even if you have like one a minute or so. Because they steam out of the narrative rather than being forced upon it for comic effect.
Irony and dead pan humour are alive and well in this unique behind-the-scenes look at what vampires do in the shadows. One more thing: expect werewolves and zombies as guest stars — and forget all about Twilight.
Production notes
What We Do in the Shadows (New Zealand, 2014). Written and directed by Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi. With: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stuart Rutherford, Ben Fransham, Jackie van Beek, Rhys Darby. Cinematography by Richard Bluck, DJ Stipsen. Runtime: 86 minutes.
