What We Do in the Shadows

Rating: 7/10 (21 July 2019)

I didn't hear about this film until I saw that there was an American television series spawned from it, I was only going to start watching it after the original film from New Zealand. Basically, a documentary crew, protected by wearing crucifixes, follow the daily (after)life of four vampire flatmates living in Wellington. Viago (Taika Waititi, also writing and directing, directed Thor: Ragnarok) is a 379-year-old dandy from the 18th century; Vladislav (Jemaine Clement, also writing and directing, starred in Men Black 3) is a 862-year-old known as "Vladislav the Poker"; Deacon (Jonny Brugh) is a 183-year-old former Nazi, and Petyr (Ben Fransham) is an 8,000-year-old, who resembles Count Orlok. The group of vampires live their everyday lives in the flat, still influenced by the cultures from their own times, but occasionally go out at night to town and hang out. Jackie (Jackie van Beek) is a human who cleans up the blood spilt from draining in the flat, she also lures victims for the vampires, her master Deacon has promised vampirehood to Jackie for doing so. One night, Jackie brings a couple Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer) and Josephine (Chelsie Preston Crayford) as victims, but Nick is not fully drained and becomes a vampire himself. Nick brings in new cultural colour to the group. He also brings his friend Stu (Stu Rutherford), an IT guy who introduces the modern information technology to the group. Stu becomes a good friend to them, and because he is Nick's best friend, the group form a pact not to eat him. Besides inviting Stu into the group, Nick is quite irresponsible of his newly gained vampirehood, including showing complete strangers his abilities. One day, a vampire hunter (Brad Harding) comes to the flat and enters the basement, Petyr easily kills him, but he dies of sunlight. The group are also visited by two police officers, but they are hypnotised so as not to see anything out of the ordinary, meaning they cannot see the blood spill and dead bodies. The group blames Nick for this and banishes him from the flat. But then the Unholy Masquerade comes, this happens once a year, where New Zealand's undead community comes and mingles together. Viago and Deacon go there and find that Jackie has been turned by Nick, Stu is also there. Soon the masquerade guests find out that Stu is human, and they get eager to eat him. On the way, the group are confronted by their nemesis, a group of werewolves, this turns into a fight. As a result, Stu is turned into a werewolf himself, but in the end, the vampires and werewolves form a friendship. Also starring Rhys Darby as Anton the werewolf, Elena Stejko as Pauline (The Beast), Jason Hoyte as Julian, Karen O'Leary as Policewoman, and Mike Minogue as Policeman. This is a really clever mockumentary, it uses all the conventions, stereotypical and mythological, we have to expect in vampire movies to its advantage, making for some fantastic and often gory jokes, and the characters are all really likeable, a smart and enjoyable horror comedy. Very good!