What We Do in the Shadows (2014) (English Language)

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86min

Director: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi

Cast: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh …and more

A small group of ancient European Vampire housemates invite a camera crew into their lives to get a glimpse of how they cope with the complexities of living in modern day New Zealand, What We Do in the Shadows is a “Mockumentary” style comedy made by part of the team that brought us hit TV comedy Flight of the Conchords.

Flight of the Conchords star Jermaine Clement and Taika Waititi both write, direct and star in a typically deadpan and sometimes gruesome comedy, consistently playing on horror movie clichés combined with the fish-out-of-water element of centuries-old vampires in modern day humble New Zealand.

The Mockumentary sub-genre of comedy has provided some inspired films in the past, from classics like This is Spinal Tap to the dark comedy of Man Bites Dog, ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ does not however sit atop the Pantheon of the genre mainly due to the fact the film is essentially one joke, albeit a funny one, stretched out over the course of the film.

Despite its shortcomings Clement and Waititi make very clever use of the modern obsession with everything Vampire and the ample opportunities for satire that it provides, there are more than enough genuinely funny moments and expertly delivered lines from wonderfully weird characters to make ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ a very welcome addition to an underrated movie genre, and one which is hard to get right.

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2 thoughts on “What We Do in the Shadows (2014) (English Language)”

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