Movie Review – What We Do In The Shadows
Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, both of Flight of the Conchords fame among many other projects, bring us the most hilarious fake documentary ever produced. Not only does it mock the nature of documentary but horror movies and buddy comedies. It tackles a lot of typical movie tropes along the way and drags every bit of vampire lore through the mud.
What We Do In The Shadows centers on a group of Vampire roommates in Wellington New Zealand. They are all several hundred years old and have seen a lot in their lifetime but all that is irrelevant to them as the documentary mainly revolves around their stupid squabbles about whose turn it is to do what chore and how to keep their decrepit house clean when feeding on the blood of their victims. What really helps the doc work is that the main characters are entirely relatable. They are four awkward guys who just don’t fit in with the modern world. They are out of touch and behind the times. They even have a rivalry with the local werewolf pack that plays out more like middle school playground pushing fights than the Lycan and Vampire war in the Underworld series.
Opening with Viago (Taika Waititi), the slightly effeminate nit-picky tight ass of the group calling for a roommate meeting What We Do In The Shadows sets the tone right out the gate. He is giddy with excitement to be able to tell the documentary crew what their lives are like and has the awkward moments with the camera of someone trying way too hard. Viago’s enthusiasm for (after)life isn’t shared by his roommates. Deacon (Jonny Brugh) seems mad at the world and completely unimpressed by anything. Vladislav (Jemaine Clement) used to be one of the most badass merciless Vampires to ever walk the earth before an entity known as ‘The Beast’ “defeated” him and made him lose his confidence. The fourth roommate is Petyr (Ben Fransham), an 8000 year old Nosferatu clone that doesn’t have any actual dialogue but plays up to comic perfection just the same.
As the doc progresses and covers the mundane day to day (night to night) lives of the roommates a new guy is introduced, Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer). Nick was brought in as a meal for the core four by Deacon’s slave Jackie (Jackie van Beek). They end up turning Nick and reluctantly bring him into their house. They don’t really like this new young vampire and find his bravado obnoxious. The tension between Nick and the others, namely Deacon is hilarious. The Deacon and Jackie relationship is equally as hilarious. Jackie is willing to do anything no matter how demeaning to serve Deacon with the promise of being turned. Jackie has been holding onto this false promise for four and a half years at the time of the doc and their relationship plays out like any couple would where the guys a using asshole stringing the girl along as long as he can. To add to the sad comedy of it Jackie has a loving family she in turn treats like crap.
Where the movie really came alive for me was the inclusion of Nick’s best friend Stu (Stu Rutherford). Stu is almost completely void of a personality. He’s an average guy with an average job and doesn’t do anything remarkable. Everyone loves Stu. Stu helps the Vampire roomies catch up with modern times and is adored for it. Nick could have easily filled this role, especially since he is one of them, but they despise him.
The movie is filmed like any other documentary. The fact that mortal human cameramen are following around a group of vampires is mentioned once or twice and their lives are actually in danger at times. The harsh lighting coming from the camera adds to the low budget doc effect and never feels annoying. The shooting also walks the fine line of clearly handheld and nauseatingly handheld without ever crossing over into the latter. Even the sound editing is all done with worn microphones. As great as The Office was, it was almost too polished to be a believable documentary. What We Do In The Shadows took a step back from polish and made the completely unreal and surreal comedy that much more real.
While the concept alone is hilarious the comedy could easily have not worked. For anyone who was a fan of Flight of the Conchords you’ll know that the comedy is understated, quiet, and dry. Slapstick, bathroom humor, and other idiotic staples that seem to plague American “comedies” are put aside for clever dialogue and hilarious reaction shots. The bumbling idiot has always been a comedy mainstay and these guys several centuries out of date certainly deliver.
