I had no idea this movie was coming out and I knew nothing about it. Glenn, one of my best friends and movie buddy, said that we should go see it and I, being a fan of all things cinema, said yes. He also said that I shouldn’t watch the preview, that people who saw it said that the preview spoiled some of the good jokes. So, of course, I listened and went in to see What We Do In The Shadows completely blind. So what did I think of this movie that I knew close to nothing about? Well, stay tuned and find out.
Let me start off by giving an oh so brief synopsis. What We Do In The Shadows is a mocumentary about a group of vampires in New Zealand. The film crew follows their daily, or nightly, lives and in intricacies of living in the modern world. I don’t want to say any more. Just like Glenn told me, I also think you should avoid watching the preview unless either A: You don’t care about spoilers, or B: This review doesn’t quite help you decide if you want to see it or not.
When it comes to the filming style and the look and fell of the movie, I look back to films like This Is Spinal Tap and shows like The Office. This movie never got as awkward as The Office so I never felt like I wanted to find an excuse to leave the theater for a breather. That’s right. I can’t handle awkward comedies. 40 Year Old Virgin killed me. I ended up fast forwarding through most of the movie. But I digress. This was a funny and quite intelligent movie that did a great job of showing how old vampire lore would clash with the modern world. It went for some of the easy jokes but I easily forgave them for that because the rest of the jokes were smart and sly. There were a few reoccurring gags that were approached in a slightly different way each time so nothing ever felt stale.
There have been quite a few funny vampire movies released in years past but What We Do In The Shadows approached the genre in a way that was not only delightful, but original. What else would you expect from the masterminds behind Flight of the Concords? They thought up complications for vampires living in the modern world that I never even thought of. There was also quite a bit of well executed slapstick that made me do my hysterical sounding laugh, the one I only do when something is REALLY funny.
All of the characters in the movie were great. Anyone who was more than an extra, basically anyone who had notable screen time, was likeable in their own way and added something to the comedy. This wasn’t a one note movie and was sure to hit each and every part of the popular vampire lore. Any jokes that were missed would have been too obscure for anyone besides super horror fans, like Raz, to get. It would have been nice to have at least one super obscure joke in the movie as a tip of the hat to superfans, but the movie was still good without it. You know, now that I think about it I wouldn’t know if there had been an joke like that in the movie. I need a horror buff to see it and tell me if there were any hidden gems. Raz! I’m counting on you!
Each of the four main actors portrayed a different type of vampire ranging from Nosferatu and Dracula archetypes to an ever so slight nod to Twilight. Believe me, the nod was a small one. It would have been too easy for the movie to have a whole scene dedicated to how bad that series was, but What We Do in the Shadows took the high road and mentioned it once or twice and then moved on. There were a lot of subtle jokes too which I liked quite a bit. It was impressive that they let some hilarious jokes go by in the background or just get a brief mention. It made the laugh feel like a reward for paying attention. The minute this comes out on DVD or Blu-ray I’m going to buy it and watch it again because I know there were jokes I missed. There was too much going on for me to catch every little joke. That being said, the movie somehow avoided oversaturating itself. The pacing, quality, and timing of the jokes took priority over throwing as many jokes in as possible.
The casting for this movie was great. Each role was portrayed perfectly and by a group of relative unknowns (as far as American cinema is concerned). Jemaine Clement and Rhys Darby (both of Flight of the Conchords fame) were the only two people in this movie I had ever heard of and can be considered famous, which goes to prove that big names don’t make a movie. I won’t go listing a bunch of names you won’t recognize even though they were all hilarious and helped make the movie what it was. The only other person I will mention is Taika Waititi who was not only the star of the movie, but one of the writers as well. I had to look him up on IMDB because I had no idea who he was but, as it turns out, I’ve actually seen some of his work before.
If you haven’t figured it out by now let me be clear. This is a movie you have to see. It was funny from beginning to end. It had a fantastic cast of characters played actors who gave it their all. What We Do in the Shadows is a movie that I might even go see again in the theaters. I know I usually say that unless a movie is visually impressive, you can wait for DVD or Netflix, but in this case, the silver screen with an audience of laughing people is the best atmosphere to see it in. If you don’t have the time or it’s not playing near you then be sure to find it when it’s on sale. What We Do in the Shadows is a must have for any comedy fan’s collection.
What We Do in the Shadows gets an 10 out of 11