What We Do In The Shadows

Even though it is only March, I am comfortable saying that What We Do In The Shadows will most likely make it into my top ten movies of the year when it comes time to make that list. I was really looking forward to this one, and I am ecstatic to report that it is even funnier than the trailer initially made it look like. The film is a mockumentary (think Borat) and it follows a group of vampires that live together in a flat in New Zealand. Created by Jemaine Clement and Taika Watiti of Flight Of The Conchords, this is a very loving send up of the horror genre as a whole. As a comedy movie, this one succeeded in spades, as I was consistently laughing and had a big grin on my face the whole movie. There really isn’t much of a plot to follow, but in the case of this film, that works out just fine, as life itself doesn’t really have a plot some of the time. I don’t mean to sound existential at all. Above all, the movie is just flat out fun. The writers took a very practical approach to the screenplay, really looking at what a vampire would have issues with if they were living in our society as normal people. Each of the three main vampires, Vladislav (Clement), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), and Viago (Taika Watiti), all have incredibly distinct personalities that are perfectly suited to bounce off of each other. I think my favorite overall was Viago, as he has a very motherly attitude and is consistently delivering commentary on the somewhat absurd proceedings of the flat. What I thought was very surprising is how the movie poked fun at reality TV shows that the world cannot seem to get enough of. For example, the trio creates a new vampire on accident one night, and Nick, the new member, has to tell his friend Stu that he is a vampire. This is shot just like a revelation in a show like The Bachelor or Jersey Shore, complete with sappy music. I thought that this was an unexpected source of comedy that was handled very intelligently it. This review may sound very scatterbrained, but I am finding it very difficult, as anybody should, to explain what is so funny about this movie. Comedy shouldn’t be dissected, as it loses much of its impact. If you pull anything out of this very jumbled review, it is that you should see this movie if you have the opportunity. It is one of the funniest movies I have seen in such a long time and it has all the makings of a cult classic. What We Do In The Shadows receives an 8/10.