What We Do in the Shadows

Overview

Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement's mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows is a fairly grotesque and funny take on the vampire genre.

When you've got four bloodsuckers sharing a flat in Wellington of course tensions flare but with this directing duo it also means lots of laughs. Waititi plays Viago, an 18th century dandy with a delicate sensibility, Clement is Vladislav, who's described as a bit of a pervert because he's partial to a bit of orgy-and-torture. The other two are Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), who fancies himself as a cool guy and Petyr (Ben Fransham), an extremely old vampire who has a look that could kill you with laughter.

These oddballs squabble about the usual sorts of flatting issues; housework and bills. It's so ridiculous you can't help but laugh. At night they head to clubs to entice victims home. You wonder how they ever get lucky when you see them strutting down Cuba Mall in leather pants, top hats and fur coats.

A dinner party gone wrong results in a new addition to the group, Nick, played by Cori Gonzalez-Macuer. He isn't the sharpest tack in the box and is soon bragging about his recent conversion to anyone who'll listen. He also commits the crime of bringing a human over to the flat. But as it happens Stu (Stu Rutherford) is an all-round great guy and he works in IT so he can teach these ancient vamps a thing or two about operating systems and text messaging.

It's a pretty slow-moving film but the pace never drags. Before their domestic squabbles get old, they're back on the streets trying to intimidate a pack of werewolves, headed by Anton, (Rhys Darby), who's on a mission to curb his animal instincts and those of his motley crew.

The sparing use of some low budget visual effects are used to good effect: a scene where newbie Nick mistakenly eats some French fries results in a spewing session reminiscent of Peter's Jackson's Bad Taste. Watching someone do the chores isn't usually funny but when it's Vladislav and he's using his flying powers to do the vacuuming then it's a different story.

See our interview with Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi here.