Review by CJ

Director:
Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi

Starring:
Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, Jonathan Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Ben Fransham

Other notable appearances:
Stuart Rutherford, Jackie van Beek, Rhys Darby

Running time:
86 minutes

Watch this if you liked:
Shaun of the Dead, Dark Shadows, Flight of the Conchords

A documentary team is given access to film a small group of vampires living in New Zealand.

What We Do in the Shadows is by far the best mockumentary film I have seen. Granted, I haven’t seen many but What We Do in the Shadows is hilarious and feels like a real documentary on the lives of vampires who have emigrated to New Zealand.

The characters in What We Do in the Shadows were all varied and had interesting personalities. I found myself fascinated by even the least active characters because they all had a place and served their purposes well.

While I think all of the actors in What We Do in the Shadows performed their roles well, I found the stand out performance to be Ben Fransham as Petyr. As the oldest vampire — styled on Nosferatu — Petyr is silent but Fransham conveys so much through simple eye movement and gestures. Every time he is onscreen, Petyr is captivating and funny … and a little bit terrifying.

The mise en scéne in What We Do in the Shadows is perfect. The vampires’ home is dark, it’s dank and everything looks like it could be an antique. The use of real locations when the vampires go clubbing added more credibility to the documentary feel of the film.

Overall, I loved What We Do in the Shadows. I thought it was uproariously funny, well made and emulates the documentary style well. Highly recommended for viewers who enjoy dark comedy, mockumentaries with bite and vampire stories that aren’t all doom and gloom.

Rating:

“I think we drink virgin blood because it sounds cool.”
“I think of it like this. If you are going to eat a sandwich, you would just enjoy it more if you knew no one had fucked it.”