Interview with Wellington Vampires

Rating: 6/10 (23 January 2016)

There are a lot of targets in this amusing meta-mockumentary about of group of vampires trying to make it in modern Wellington: vampire myths and movies, documentaries and other mockumentaries. Writers/directors Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi wisely keep the focus tight and mine the mundane (a vampire chore wheel, the tensions of sharing a flat with others) for humor as much as they explore the more absurd elements of the premise, like how to get into a nightclub when you have to be invited in, tricky relationship management with familiars, and run-ins with a rival gang of werewolves. If the best mockumentaries explore the social, cultural and political milieu of its subjects, this one has to make those things up out of pop culture depictions, so it isn't always as sharp and wickedly funny as the great examples of the genre. It is, however, very well-constructed, thoughtful and mostly funny, even with a few dry stretches. And it's nice to see New Zealand as something other than Middle Earth for a change.