Actually funny, not Hollywood-ish pretend-funny.

Rating: 9/10 (30 July 2016)

I watched this for the second time last night. I remembered it being alright, but on my second viewing I caught a lot of funny jokes I missed before.
...and that's what I love about "What We Do in the Shadows". It isn't forcing a joke on you. It doesn't rub it in your face. The way the humor is presented is almost natural, and it's ultimately what Hollywood comedies aren't - genuinely funny. So while you may miss some funny things when you watch it the first time, you're still entertained in a way that's rare for comedy movies nowadays. There is a charm to it. I usually dread these kind of fake documentaries, and I don't care for vampires (especially modern takes of them), but my cynicism was soon put to rest. Yes, there's a film crew following and documenting the lives of vampires, and it sounds horrible when simply stated like that, but it's much better than I thought it could be.
Jermaine Clement was great, and the main reason I got this film in the first place. But Taika Waititi (co-director, along with Clement), Jonny Brugh and Cori Gonzales-Macuer were very good too. From the side characters Stu Rutherford hilariously seems to play himself, Jackie van Beek is a frustrated slave and Ben Fransham plays a really old vampire, straight from a horror story. Rhys Darby is a likable presence as the werewolf pack leader. All the actors are good, and they mostly play it straight, bordering on deadpan. It was the right decision as far as comedic style goes.
What I didn't expect from a movie like this was special effects. This isn't a CGI-fest or effect-heavy like a blockbuster nowadays is, but most of the effects are really good and seamless. There were couple of scenes where I actually started laughing at the effects, because their quality caught me off-guard.
If you like funny and weird soundtracks, there's plenty to like in this one. Most of the music is somewhat traditional, almost from another age we have forgot, and it fits perfectly to the tone of the movie. There's also a short, clumsy band act that's complimenting the same weird tone. It's not treated as a joke, on the contrary it's played very straight - but the humor comes in context with everything else.
I have something negative to say as well, though it's just nitpicking at this point. The latter half of the film isn't quite as funny, and the narrative took a direction I didn't care that much about. It's still good, but some of the magic is gone. And while I complimented the natural flow of comedy, some of the jokes - especially during the latter half - come off as forced. They stick out like sore thumb, but thankfully they're the exception instead of the rule. That's it, I don't think I have more complaints.
"What We Do in the Shadows" is great. And the more you compare it to modern mainstream comedies, the better it gets. If you're tired of lazy, forced corporate products like the Ghostbusters reboot, Adam Sandler&Kevin James productions, Seth McFarlane flicks or your average frat boy comedies and chick flicks, you'll probably like this one. There wasn't a committee of suits and marketing people behind this one, and it shows. Hollywood, take note before you drown under your own feces.