Sometimes the scariest thing about being a vampire is doing the dishes

Rating: 9/10 (29 April 2014)

This fly-on-the-wall mockumentary is a refreshingly silly take on a genre that desperately needed sending up - vampires. If you thought vampire movies had reached saturation point, think again, because What We Do In The Shadows manages to lend it a thankfully comical bent. Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement lead a solid cast of Kiwi actors playing a small group of inept but lovable bloodsuckers living in a flat together in Wellington. When a freshly turned convert starts bragging about his newfound vampire status while out clubbing, things start going wrong for the troupe, who until then had only to contend with minor problems like what to wear on a night out when your wardrobe is 400 years out of fashion, and how to go clubbing when nobody will invite you in the door. Vampire gags come thick and fast and there's enough of a solid plot to keep the movie entertaining. It even gets a little bit tense in places when the flatmates start to fall out over the new convert's bad behaviour. All in this is a very funny film, with more than a few classic one-liners. A great date movie to check whether your lover-to-be can handle a little dark humour. Highly recommended.