What We Do In the Shadows (Dir Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement, 1h 28m, 2014)

The mockumentary. At its best, it brings us joyously ridiculous moments like six-inch Stonehenges descending to the confusion of the titular band in This is Spinal Tap, or the already strange world of the dog show taken to enjoyably manic heights in Best in Show. At its worst, it can go too far, as in the knowingly aware American remake of The Office, or the clunkingly insensitive Borat and Bruno, where Baron-Cohen becomes entangled in characters that are little more than a collection of gags, rather than a believable flesh-and-blood person, no longer believable or relatable. Despite its supernatural premise, as a group of film-makers follows a quartet of vampires in Wellington, New Zealand, as they go about their nightly business, What We Do In the Shadows is not only a hilarious, yet faithful homage to the vampire, but arguably the film that brought the talents of one of comedy cinema's newest talents, director and star Taika Waititi, to the attention of many

Taking influence from an earlier 2005 short, with much of the same cast, What We Do in the Shadows in essence depicts the life of a group of vampires (Waititi's Viago, co-director Jermaine Clement's Vladislav, and Jonathan Brughon's Deacon) on the outskirts of New Zealand's capital, and their trials and tribulations across a number of months, dealing with their undead nature, and the unexpected drawbacks of being hundereds of years old, from lost loves to lost scarves. Their comfortable dynamic, however, is shattered by the enforced, after one of their blood drinking sessions goes wrong, arrival of Nick, who becomes the group's newest member, bringing with him modern sensibilities, and technology, via his still-human friend, Stu, but also disaster for one of the group, before the various strands of each of the vampire's history comes together in the finale, in hilarious, and often heartwarming ways.

Much of the film's charm comes from its entire premise; the idea of vampires having to live in modernity certainly lends itself to many of the film's funniest moments -the opening scene in which Waititi's Viago slowly awakes from his coffin, blindly flailing at his alarm-clock from inside, before slowly travelling around the house to awaken his friends for a flat meeting is a particular highlight, but there are too many moments, from the group's discovery of the internet, complete with them watching a sunrise via YouTube and "dark bidding" on eBay, to the trio wandering around downtown Wellington, unable to get into pubs without being welcomed in, to count.

Indeed, much of its humour comes from this clash of cultures-there are multiple scenes in which the absolute absurdity of the vampire comes to the fore, from our protagonists waving cups in front of mirrors and making ghost sounds to the very idea of century old beings having a house-chore rota, and at least two impressively petty fight scenes, that, with their various abilities, turn full circle and are as funny as they are dramatic, whilst several chases run the gamut between hilarious and violent, the soundtrack by Plan 9 and the often confused and chaotic camera work only adding to this. The climax of the film, involving the entire cast, at a party for the local vampires, ghouls and undead, where Vladislav confronts his former lover, nicknamed the Beast, and Stu is attacked by a group of werewolves, is particularly comedic, leading to arguably the film's best moment as the vampires and werewolves later reconcile.

At its heart, though, What We Do in the Shadows is a film that rests on its four major characters and their interactions; Viago is naive, and somewhat pompous, but well-meaning, and the closest the film has to a protagonist, Clement's Vladislav is every inch the Stokerish Dracula-esque figure, complete with impressive moustache and goatee and thick Romanian accent, and dysfunctional relationships with the rest of the household, whilst Deacon, as the youngest, begins to butt heads with the introduction of Nick, and clearly, compared to the rest of the rest, feels like someone still coming to grips with the extent of his powers. Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer), meanwhile, belies his freshness in the group with both his relation to being a vampire, and indeed in how he butts up against the much older members of the group. That What We Do In The Shadows manages to balanace thse four personalities is nothing short of impressive

What We Do In the Shadows is nothing short of excellent, a film that manages to capture what makes the vampire work, and match it perfectly with hilarious moments, and excellently wrought characters. But more than this, it is a film shot throught with humour, both from its setting and its characters. Rarely has the mockumentary been better wrought, yet been so funny.

Rating: Highly Recommended

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