What We Do in the Shadows
Mockumentaries are hard to get right, and the vampire genre has been done to death, so what on earth were Taika Waititi and Jamaine Clement thinking when they decided to bring the two cinematic genres together in their film, What We Do In The Shadows? They probably just thought it would be cool, and decided all they needed was some kiwi can do attitude, and surprisingly it works.
The film takes an original look at the vampire mythology, by asking the question, what do vampires do in the mundaneness of ordinary life. To do this, Waititi and Clement decide to do a bit of a kiwi take on Being Human, but keeping it with just vampires. They then allow a documentary film crew in to record the whole thing.
The story of four vampires flatting in Wellington takes a fresh look at the difficulties faced by flatting together, and magnifies it by throwing together a group of ancient vampires who have all lived together a little too long. Doing the dishes and flat meetings all get visited in a hilarious new light.
The film swings between the bizarre to the out right funny, and will have you laughing out loud many times through the duration. Great one liners, unexpected situations and the inclusion of werewolves, zombies and witches all combine to create the funniest kiwi film in a long time.
Individually Waititi and Clement have done some great work, but together they are absolutely brilliant.
Rating: R13 Violence and offensive language.
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