Review: What We Do in the Shadows

It's about time that the world was gifted with another really good spoof, and that gift is clearly WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS: it's like The Real World for the undead, and it is beautiful.



For fans of FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS, you'll want to check this film out -- SHADOWS was helmed by the same producers of the show, and hands out heavy doses of its characteristic humor. The mockumentary follows a group of four vampire flatmates -- Vladislav (Jemaine Clement), Viago (Taika Waititi), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), and Petyr (Ben Fransham) -- who struggle to keep up with modern life. Clement and Waititi have co-written and directed this delight of a spoof, creating the perfect concoction of dark and subtle humor. Vladislav, Viago, Deacon, and Petyr have an odd dynamic, the feathers of which are ruffled when Petyr tucks a new vampire, Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer), into the fold. Nick is at first an unwanted addition to the house, not quite grasping the anonymity that the group has adhered to out on the streets; but he is able to add a youthful touch to their experience, and also introduces everyone to his best mate, Stu (a human who inadvertently balances out this motley crew of individuals with a tinge of bromance).

What makes the film so great is the sheer comic talent of those involved. There are a handful of absolutely masterful scenes in this film; but there's also more of a plot than you would expect -- not only will you get bombarded by clever humor, you will also really come to like these flatmates as they sort things out. And the attention is pretty evenly distributed between each character: they all have their own little quirks that make them immediately likeable. Not one of them fades into the background.

The film essentially segments into four different episodes. Herein lies the only negative comment that I can muster for this film: each episode does not transition 100% smoothly into the next. Often the segments are held together with title cards stating, "three months later" or "several months later" -- lazy attempts to quickly enter the characters into a new situation. But it's not a completely negative thing: I can very much see this film being picked up as a sitcom, in which case the transitions would not be as important.

Overall, it's a hilarious hour and a half, and well worth the watch. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS is now playing at Midtown Cinema!