Sanguinous hijinks

Rating: 4/10 (1 June 2016)

This upbeat and fairly risible mockumentary follows a group of vampire bachelors as they attempt to cope with the pressures of modern day living. Set in Wellington, New Zealand - which apparently has quite a thriving undead scene - the film's main subjects are vampires from different eras who have been housemates for a long time and whose shared taste for blood has kept their friendship alive, even if they do have slightly different ways of seeing the world.
The dynamic between the group shifts when Petyr, the eldest of the housemates (played by Ben Fransham) turns one of their intended victims into a vampire. With a lot to learn and new urges and powers to gain control of, this new friend (who I've kept anonymous to mitigate the spoiler), is reluctantly taken in, and with him, a link to the present day mindset and the advantages that up-to-date technology can offer.
The film succeeds in showing that each of the characters has their own personality. Vladislav (Jemaine Clement) is supposedly an evil tyrant who used to enjoy 'poking' his victims, but he's actually shy and introspective, which kind of works pretty well; Petyr is thousands of years old and is more the classic, Nosferatu-type vampire - he doesn't speak but his presence is fearsome; Deacon (Jonny Brugh) is complex, slightly insecure, a bit of a user, a bit of a manic depressive - which makes his character surprisingly believable. Jackie (played by Jackie Van Beek) is his disgruntled familiar, who must obey her vampire master's every command, hoping one day to receive the reward of eternal life through being bitten. Then there's Viago (Taika Waititi), a more reserved and fussy if not slightly staid vampire who nevertheless embraces the experience of being followed around by the documentary crew.
One of the great things about this film is that it manages to have quite a unique take on the undead lifestyle. The werewolf pack for example: their dialogue and interaction - both amongst themselves and with the vampires - is fantastic. They are portrayed in a refreshing new way, as are the zombies.
I would call What We Do in the Shadows a black comedy rendered in the style of a documentary or reality show. All the tropes of the genre are firmly in place, including repetitive cut-aways to ancient-looking etchings and paintings. This actually helps the film to progress its narrative and it keeps the audience rooted in the parody mindset, so I would say it works well.
I actually rated most of the actors, considering most of them were new faces to me. Stu Rutherford plays himself and is totally believable. On the other hand, I found Taika Waititi's acting a bit forced in a couple of places. I'm not knocking his work ethic, obviously. He and Jemaine Clement not only acted in but wrote and directed What We Do in the Shadows.
All things considered, this is an amusing, easygoing film that, if you're into the theme, is most definitely worth a watch; there are genuine laugh-out-loud moments and it's different enough to be worth an hour and a half of any film buff's time.
I just fail to see how it's been scored over 7 by the community, because I like to take all things into consideration when I review a film, and try and let the facts speak for themselves. There are things that knock it down from having that kind of score, I reckon. Fairly obvious things. There's believability: for example, Viago is over 700 years old but apparently still hasn't worked out how to feed properly - I mean, this doesn't make him funnier as a character, to me; maybe it's meant to but the way it's done it seems more like a goof. Then there's the soundtrack, which is pretty dismal. Then I wonder, am I going to recall scenes of this film for years to come, am I going to quote it to my friends? At the time of writing, the IMDb score for this film is [7.6]. That's exactly the same score An American Werewolf In London currently has: exactly [7.6]. So... What We Do in the Shadows is exactly as good a film as An American Werewolf In London, is it? Not in my opinion - in fact a much stronger, more succinct phrase springs to mind (but I will try to restrain myself, like when you have that shameful urge to eat your best friend).
In my system, What We Do in the Shadows gets [4.4].