A Wickedly Entertaining And Bitingly Clever Trip To The Long White...Vampire

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2014)

Don your crucifix and come take a hilariously unholy trip to Wellington, New Zealand where you will meet four of the most dysfunctional yet intriguing beings of the undead. There's Viago (Taika Waititi) who, at 379 years old, still struggles to get out of his coffin when woken by his alarm at 6:00; Vlad (Jermaine Clement), an 862 year old hypersexual incubus who has a soft spot for torture and debauchery; Petyr (Ben Fransham), Count Orlok's long lost 8000 year old brother, and Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), the rebellious bad boy and baby of the family at 183. That isuntil Petyr accidentally bites local hipster Nick (Cori Gonzalez- Macuer).
Written and directed by Clement (FLIGHT OF THE CONCORDS) and Waititi (GREEN LANTERN), WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS is a wickedly entertaining and bitingly clever mockumentary about the pleasures and pitfalls of vampires living together in a modern world. Each scene is a testament to their wit and demands your attention such as the flatmate meeting between Viago, Vlad and Deacon in which the latter is confronted about not pulling his weight when it comes to washing dishes. After Vlad exclaims that Deacon has 'not washed the dishes for five years', Viago concurs 'that it is unacceptable to have so many bloody dishes all over the bench' just as the scene cuts to an image of an over-flowing sink piled high with bloody crockery. Equally funny is the scene in which the vampires get dressed up for a night on the town and reflect upon their personal styles from Viago not knowing what he looks like due to their lack of a reflection to Vlad deadpanning directly to the camera of his 'dead but delicious' look.
The pace at which the pop-culture vampire barbs and homages flow is counter-balanced nicely by the plot's simplicity and minimalist special effects (the bat scene is well done). Likewise, there is a nice juxtaposition between the rich and stylised costuming settings that are somehow hauntingly delicate and the childlike whimsy of the characters within the frame. Even their clichéd supernatural friends (werewolves, zombies) and Vlad's ex- girlfriend a.k.a the beast are uncomplicated characters with amusing one-liners.
With just the right balance of comedy and horror, this is a bloody fantastic film figuratively and literally and definitely worth watching. You may even have to see it twice to make up for the moments you missed whilst laughing too hard.
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