What We Do In The Shadows

So since Taika Waititi is the new thing these days due to Thor: Ragnarok, I thought that I would pop in his sleeper comedy of 2015. Just a disclaimer, I did watch this movie a couple months back but never got around to writing a review for it. I finally watched it again and now I'm going to review it to capitalize on the hype after Thor Ragnarok. #exploitationofpopulartrends!

What We Do In the Shadows is a mockumentary set in New Zealand. It follows the story of a bunch of vampires living in a flat in Wellington. In this group you have Viago (played by Taika Waititi), Vladislav (played by Jermaine Clement), Deacon (played by Jonathan Brugh), and a Nosferatu vampire named Petyr (played by Ben Fransham).

The premise is that these vampires let a film crew into their home to get an inside look into their lives leading up to the Unholy Masquerade, a party where all the supernatural creatures of Wellington come together.

The result is a criminally underrated comedy that not enough people have seen. I think among movie circles it has become more popular but I don't know too many casual movie goers who have seen this movie and that is a shame. It's on Amazon Prime, check it out!

Early on in the film they turn a stranger named Nick (played by Cori Gonzalez-Macuer) into a vampire and he joins them in the flat. Him and his friend Stu (played by Stu Rutherford) show the ancient vampires how to get into clubs, watch Youtube videos, and just live in the modern day.

That of course brings its own drama but the main appeal of this movie is just these guys becoming accustomed to living in the 21st century while being vampires. This leads to some really dark gory humor. If you're squeamish at the sight of blood you should still see this movie just know that there are some parts where blood squirts out of people's necks... I mean it's a vampire movie what did you expect?

There are also some "scary" moments in the film. And I mean that in the lightest of terms because I am not a fan of jump scares and even I thought these were pretty tame. It is still worth watching.

I don't want to overhype this movie. It's really funny and an underrated comedy but I don't think it goes down as one of my favorite comedies of all time. Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clements, the directors of the film have a certain style of humor that is pretty dry. I think it's hilarious but there's a chance it might take a little bit to really enjoy. Furthermore there are a few (not a lot of) parts that kind of drag.

I think part of the reason I didn't get through this film all the way the first time was because I just wasn't in the mood for the dry humor that movie presents. I still thought it was funny but I had to be in a certain mindset.

Still I can't recommend this movie enough. Another really great element of this movie was the fact that the practical effects of the film are absolutely fantastic. The budget of this film, in comparison with other big films, was absolutely nothing and yet Waititi and Clements were able to creates some really great imagery and practical effects to not only add to the comedy, but also add to the atmosphere of the film that these guys are vampires.

These guys had to have had fun making this movie and it could have easily been made with less practical effects and still have been funny. However, the stunts and movie magic they use really do make it feel like these guys are actually vampires.

But the practicality of the film also works towards the overall atmosphere and feeling of the film. While it looks great, I think there's a bit of charm in how practical the effects are. If they had a bigger budget I think Waititi and Clements could have put in CGI and made it more realistic but I don't think it would have contributed to the overall feeling of the film. There's a scene where they run across a group of werewolves and they eventually turn. The werewolves don't look real at all but it adds to the comedy.

The leader of the werewolf pack is played by Rhys Darby who is an actor who I haven't really seen in a lot of film but I always recognize him when I do. Apparently Waititi is talking about making a sequel/spin off of this film called What We Do In the Moonlight focusing on this group of werewolves and I promise you, after watching this film, you will be excited for that film.

Overall, I hope I'm not overselling this movie. It's really underrated and definitely worth checking out. Even if you don't have Amazon Prime, try and find this film, it is worth the rental.

But have you seen this film? If you have let me know what you thought about it? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @MovieSymposium as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

I'll leave you with this. I love TED Talks. And I'm starting to love Taikia Waititi. Did you know he did a TED talk? Enjoy!