What We Do in the Shadows

Rating: 7/10 (27 February 2016)

A documentary crew follows vampires (who are flatmates in a New Zealand city) during their nightly routines, capturing them as they awaken, hunt for human food, attempt to get in clubs, opening up about themselves in interview segments, how they react to werewolves, their messy situations during bloody feedings, prepare for an "unholy masquerade", befriend an IT computer analyst (human) they bond with while the one that introduced him to them (recently turned) becomes a major nuisance, and contend with the dangers of their undead secret getting out where it shouldn't. Clever, witty, with a sense of humor; this fun little gem turns both the vampire genre and found footage genre on their head.
Two of the most popular horror subgenres merging in a fine synchronicity with some amusing observations caught on camera: (a) how the vampires deal with two cops who answer a call about disturbances, (b) a human young man that was supposed to only be food for the vampires to feed from being kept alive by the oldest vampire of the flat really often wearing out his welcome due to his big mouth, telling practically anyone who would listen of his status as a bloodsucker, (c) how protecting a human becomes increasingly difficult, especially at a party room full of vampires just ready to go into a blood-drinking frenzy, (d) how flying around might be cool but it could lead to being seen by the wrong onlookers, (e) how a patient human slave has been waiting for her master to turn her, cleaning up the bloody messes, ironing their clothes, mowing their lawn, even dutifully selecting humans to be lunch for the vampires (!), (f) being introduced to the internet, a vampire's forlorn desire to being romantically tied to a woman he followed to New Zealand, eventually winning her 96 year old heart (!), (g) how being around werewolves when the full moon emerges in the sky is not a good situation for even vampires (or camera operators with the vampires!), and (h) the awful results of a vampire eating chips which has quite the back alley vomit.
A documentary about vampires, their habits and behavior night to night, and conveying their unique, distinct personalities, particularly when talking to the camera (and, essentially, us, the viewing audience), offers some insight into where they came from, what they expect, and the positives and negatives for having eternal life but being restricted by the limits that come with the "undead lifestyle". The passive, inert Stu, the welcomed human among the vampires (who speak candidly and nonchalantly about their killing humans for the blood they need to satiate their appetite), is quite a sight among the more chatty, vocal vampires who never fail to embellish or distance themselves from the camera and what it entails. The special effects are good when depended upon (Nick's inability to conceal his newfound vampirism, and his taking flight; an actual "batfight" between Nick and rival Deacon (who thinks Nick is "stealing his style", and the luring of an actual vampire hunter to their domain results in the sunlight death of one of their own; the vampires being everywhere in their flat as Nick tries to escape them before being turned by Max Schreck-lookalike, Petyr; Viago's always hitting the main artery causing bloody messes), but it is the cast that makes this a real treat. Petyr, whose appearance is modeled after Schreck (from Nosferatur) or Reggie Nalder (of Salem's Lot), is genuinely scary, but how the film even gets humor out of him, in just the way he differs in personality to the others (he stays mostly in his basement, and when Viago attempts to talk with him, he gets a shriek), those who made this film deserve kudos. Vlad's diminished power due to a romantic split that left him damaged is certainly amusing when he tries to render others under a spell, failing miserably. But it is how the film is shot as a document of these unique characters that gives this a significant charm.