In Wellington, New Zealand, no one can hear you scream... Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi pay homage to the Vampire genre in bloodthirsty style.

“What We Do In The Shadows” (15)

Directed by: Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement.

Starring: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stuart Rutherford, and Jackie van Beek.

Rated: ‘15’ for containing strong language and bloody violence.

Running time: 85 minutes.

Released in UK cinemas from the 21^st of November, 2014.

It’s been almost seven years since the unfortunate end of the award-winning sitcom, “Flight Of The Concords”, with very few shows being able to fill the hole of the most strangely compelling comic series to grace television in many years. Since then, Jemaine Clement has started collaborations with Taika Waititi (the odd, yet wonderful “Eagle V.S. Shark”), and starred in various small roles such as Boris The Animal, in the awful “Men In Black 3”. Unfortunately, nothing has ever filled the void of his award-winning TV show, until now.  Despite it’s particularly low budget, “What We Do In The Shadows” beats the very best of many high-end productions this year, proving to be the funniest and most inventive comedy horror in many, many years, topping the very best of comedy spoofs.

One sheet is plenty?
Taika Waititi stars as
Viago, in a still from
"What We Do In The Shadows". 

Mixing the odd and daft sensibilities of their original series with an off-kilter, bloody Edgar Wright style, Clement and C.O. portray four vampires: a suave playboy named Deacon (Brugh), Viago (Waititi) the charismatic pansy, their bumbling leader Vladislav (Clement) and a humble yet violent (when necessary) Nosferatu-esque vampire named Petyr (Ben Fransham). Having taken up residence in a flat with a desperate need for a lick of paint, in Wellington, New Zealand, the foolish group live comfortably together, until the day that Petyr decides to leave the confines of his cellar and bites into the neck of their dinner guest (he was meant to be the dinner for four, greedy so-and-so) Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer), consuming his entire blood supply for himself. What’s worse is that Nick has now been turned into a new-age vampire, who threatens to upset the status quo, when he begins to show the group inventions such as the computer (cue hilarious results) and advertises his newfound powers a little too much…

Leading the audience through their extensive world of vampire mischief, “WWDITS” benefits from its purely original concept. Sure we’ve had fly-on-the-wall mockumentary’s before (check out “Dead Set” from the master of devious cyber-horror, Charlie Brooker), but nothing has ever hit the heights of comedy horror quite like this before. Clement and Waititi’s ambitious production rivals the very best in horror comedy, and it’s all down to their wonderfully bloodthirsty script. If you aren’t familiar with the pair’s previous writing style, it’s a vivid and overly strange approach, but it doesn’t matter. The entire script plays upon the tired Vampire format, and turns it completely upon its head, treating the audience to well-written characters which constantly surprise, jokes that aren’t notably predictable and the ability to make insanely funny jokes out of horror’s greatest memories.  

Viago (Waititi) takes IT lessons from the group's only human friend
Stu (Stuart Rutherford), in a still from "What We Do In The Shadows". 

But despite their inventive script, Clement and Waititi seem to have hesitated in creating a narrative that we as an audience are expected to follow. Maybe they didn’t feel confident enough to create a real story, but what makes this series of vast sketches work so well, is the film’s fast and furious delivery of sight-gags and quips, which establishes it as a piece that may benefit from repeat screenings in the future, allowing viewers to discover fresh jokes upon each viewing (much like “Shaun Of The Dead” and the rest of the “Cornetto Trilogy”). It’s writing like this that deserves the attention of comedy fans, instead of films such as “Horrible Bosses 2” and “Tammy”. They’re completely different brands of comedy sure, but with “WWDITS” it seems as though the film has actual heart and energy throughout, with a goal to entertain and not to dominate the UK box-office.

Playing hide and seek with Petyr was a dangerous affair...
 Ben Fransham stars in a still from "What We Do In The Shadows".

Without a comical cast, “WWDITS” wouldn’t have worked to its full potential. It’s the comic stamina of Clement, Waititi, Brugh and Gonzalez-Macuer which keeps this piece alive throughout its (unfortunately short) 85 minute running time, and although they’re on camera 95% of the time, the group provide commendable wise-cracking performances, mastering comic timing from their expertly crafted script. Along with the main cast, the film is also complemented by the additions of Jackie van Beek (as Jackie, a house-maid who just wishes to become a vampire) and Rhys Darby (a swear-word hating werewolf named Anton), carrying my favourite line from the entire film: “What are we? Werewolves, not swear-wolves!”

Verdict

Ignore everything else currently showing in your local multiplex (yes, even “Interstellar”) and watch "WWDITS". Put everything else on hold, and if “WWDITS” isn’t showing locally, unearth a cinema which is showing it. It’s the breakout indie-comedy of the last five years, and to miss it would be criminal. Quite simply, it’s comedy gold.

8.5 Stars out of 10

Written by Scott Gentry.

Film/TV Rating Key
1-2 stars out of ten = Awful.
3-4 stars out of ten = Average.
5-6 stars out of ten = Good.
7-8 stars out of ten = Excellent.
9-10 stars out of ten = Amazing.

Trailer

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