Surprisingly Good

Rating: 7/10 (16 August 2015)

Comedy is very subjective. You could probably make the same statement about most genres, but comedy more than anything can be a very personal experience and what one viewer finds hilarious is often considered to be "stupid" by another. Because of that, I usually take reviews of comedy films with a grain of salt. Even when the positive reviews came from many of my favorite horror sites, I was still skeptical that I would actually enjoy the movie, especially because I've never been the biggest fan of foreign humor (meaning not American).
I went into the movie carrying that skepticism and was idling away checking my Twitter account for the first several minutes of the movie. Something happened, though, about 30 minutes into the movie. I found myself engaged by excellent writing and clever characters. The movie revolves around four roommates, who essentially represent different archetypes of vampire. One guy is effeminate and fancy, reminding me of Anne Rice's vampires. The "newest" of the four is the most daring in their minds but still hilariously outdated. The two who remain are almost perfect caricatures of Dracula and Nosferatu. Jermaine Clement as the Dracula character is the centerpiece, pulling a charming riff on the Oldman interpretation. The makeup on the Nosferatu clone is very good for a low budget and they do some clever things by playing with the twist of Petyr being the eldest of them and sort of the last step in evolution.
There are plenty of in-jokes for vampire fans, with twists and references to classic vampire movies. What really makes the movie work, though, is that the characters are good. The creepy vamp in the basement makes a new protégé, who becomes the fifth wheel in this gang. He introduces them to his "bestie" (a human), who the group suddenly grow to like more than the noob vamp.
The situations this creates drive the humor, for the most part, but the emotions it brings out in the characters really cements this as a well acted and written movie, as well. To sound horribly cliché, I found myself liking them and caring about the resolution of the movie. We're even introduced to a group of guys who seems like they could be a pack of rugby fans, but are revealed to be monster of their own, which creates a funny rivalry that the movie uses to good advantage.
Overall, I was much more impressed by this movie than I thought I would be. The characters are fun, the movie makes some good jokes that any vampire fan will enjoy and the director, also, adds to interesting flourishes and visual touches that combine to make this movie stand out among the pack in this year's indie horror films.