Stylish indie film eschews plot in favor of plotlessness

Rating: 6/10 (10 November 2014)

This is a great looking film, with typically sharp Wellington VFX and sumptuous, gritty goth set design, the film is obviously an attraction for local New Zealand (and Wellington) viewers, in the sense that it shows its cast in familiar locations for partying Wellingtonians, and the camera is focused on Wellington actors Waititi and Clement for about 90 percent of the screen time.
What We Do in the Shadows is also a mixed genre film, something the film industry tends to reject, but can be done brilliantly with indie film, and frankly, the film never feels cheap or compromised, often using a kind of there-in-the-moment live camera feel, and improvised lines throughout.
However, this film has limitations, and its ultimately a bit of a disappointment. The movie shows the lives of four overdressed vampires, intimately sharing their crazy lives and tribulations etc, but there's really no plot, and certainly nothing resembling a satisfying ending sequence.
Clearly, there's plot points that a proper story development could pick out as suitable material for a third act here, for instance, when an archaic Nosferatu-lookalike vampire downstairs gets attacked by vampire hunters, but the event just passes as 'part of the story', as are plot threads about gang friction between vampires and werewolves, or some bathetic humor about Clements ex-girlfriend being a torment of some sort. Basically, this is a film where the characters are defined, then the acting is improvised; as a result the audience gives its time, but after a stylish opening, gets no substantial ending in return.
"Shadows" is basically a series of comedy sketches about flatting life for teens, and I would rather see some comedy with a bit of scope or depth - Waititi comes across on screen as clean cut, fruity and lightweight, but never hilarious. I get the feeling he was more focused on the quality of his images, and the character dynamics than the actual gags, much less the story. Oh well.