For those of you not in the know What We Do in the Shadows is a bat on the wall (see what I did there) mockumentary that pokes fun at Vampires and all the inherent problems that tag along with these particular creatures of the night. The film is written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taikia Waititi, who also star in the movie as well. This duo is also joined by Jonathan Brugh and Ben Fransham. These four play Vampires called Vladislav, Viago, Deacon and Petyr respectively and are the core of the film. As the months the film covers unfurl, we get to watch them as they deal with the mundane issues of having to cope with a world that isn’t quite ready for them.
The plot, such that it is, revolves around a film crew from the New Zealand tourist board following a quartet of Vampires that live in Wellington during the build up to the year’s big 'undead' social event 'The Unholy Masquerade'.
The film crew, who by the way have been given crucifixes and a promise that they will not be harmed, get complete and unrestricted access to their entire lives. They follow the four as they deal with the undead day to day or should that be night to night, realities that being an immortal blood sucker brings. The ‘chore wheel’ and why the dishes haven’t been done in the last five years, trying to get a nightclub doorman to ‘invite’ them in and getting dressed to go out without the aid of a mirror are just some of the challenges they deal with.
With the exception of Petyr, who is over eight thousand years old and lives in the basement. Who for all intents and purposes may as well walk around with a t-shirt on that says ‘for copyright reasons, please don’t call me Nosferatu’ they are all fairly immature. At best they could be described as ‘Man Children’. They act on impulse and its only really Taikia Watiti’s ‘Viago’ that even shows the slightest tinges of guilt and remorse at having to kill people to get access to the blood they need to survive. They throw dinner parties at which unsuspecting ‘human’ guests are invited over by Vladislav’s minion Jackie. She does whatever he asks her to do as he has promised to turn her into a vampire at some point in the future. The downside to this relationship is that Jackie must do whatever her master bids. Shopping, picking up the dry cleaning and cleaning up after when the walls, floors and in some cases ceilings are covered in blood.
It is at one of these parties that we meet Nick. A largely hapless twenty something nobody that they have some fun with. Hypnotising him into thinking he’s eating worms instead of ‘sketi’ and that he has a ‘snake’ where there shouldn’t be a snake. After Nick realises whats going on he tries to escape the house and what follows is best described as a slapstick chase montage. Door after door is locked, running down corridors with Vampires at either end and cliché upon ‘I want to drink your blood’ cliché. This of course is all captured perfectly by the documentary film crew, who by the way do nothing to try and help. Nick does manage to escape and just as he thinks he’s in the clear he runs straight into Petyr in the garden and before you can say ‘would you mind awfully not biting me on the neck’ he gets bitten on the neck.
Nick doesn’t initially cope well with becoming a Vampire and has a hard time keeping it quiet. So much so that after a night out drinking in one of the local downtown bars he tells everyone that will listen that he is a now a member of the non-daylight club. He also tries using ‘I am Twilight’ as a chat up line. After a while though he starts finding his feet and along with his still human friend Stu, Nick tries to make the best of the hand he’s been dealt.
One of the highlights of the film comes when the collective vampire gang stumble across the path of the local Werewolves. It’s played like it’s the Sharks Vs The Jets from Westside Story. Very confrontational in a ‘my dad’s bigger than your dad’ kind of way. The leader of the Werewolves, being a sensible chap, tries very hard to de-escalate the situation and calm his guys down. ‘We’re Werewolves, not Swearwolves’ comes one of the best quotes of the film.
What We Do in the Shadows is the best horror comedy to come along since Shaun of the Dead. Its only eighty nine minutes long but is pretty much perfect from start to finish. The comedy never feels forced or jaded. I think this movie belongs in the same category as This is Spinal Tap.
It references pretty much any Vampire film you could care to mention. Lost Boys to Blade are thrown into the mix for comic effect.
Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement seem to appreciate eccentrics. Waititi explored them in his first two films, Eagle vs Shark and Boy, and Clement's alliance with Bret McKenzie as Flight of the Conchords was an object lesson in not fitting in. Their early works were loved both here and abroad. Between them, Waititi and Clement have been nominated at the Grammys, the Emmys and the Oscars, hardly a pedigree to be sniffed at and on top of all of that it has the best tag line I’ve seen for a film in a very long time 'Some interviews with some Vampires'.
I suspect that given the way the film has been received that somewhere in the not too distant future a studio exec will enquire about the possibility of a sequel and start throwing money at it to make it happen. I’d just like to state for the record that I think that maybe a bad idea. Trying to catch lightning in a bottle again could possibly be a ‘fang too far’ but I do think there could be possibilities to follow up on the Werewolves. ‘What We Do in the Moonlight’ anyone???
Twitter review:
1 part Mockumentary, 2 parts Horror and a light sprinkling of the red stuff.
#FunFangs&Farce
Useful Links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3416742/?ref_=nv_sr_2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAZEWtyhpes
http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=138869
