What We Do In The Shadows Review

Director: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi
Starring: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh, Jackie van Beek
Running time: 87 minutes
Rating: 15

Just when you thought the time for the vampire movie was long gone, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi create What We Do In The Shadows. Not only is it blowing the whole genre off its toes, but it also might be one of the greatest mockumentries we have seen in a long time.

What We Do In The Shadows tells the story of three flat mates Viago, Deacon and Vladislav who are just trying to get by and overcome obstacles in their life - like being immortal vampires who need to feast on human blood to stay alive. And on top of normal worries like not trying to hit a main artery and sunrise, they are also worrying about rent, going out clubbing, and keeping up their house hold chores.

As this is a film from one of the creators of Flight Of The Concordes, you might be expecting something that is a little bit off the cuff. Despite the fact that this is a story about hundreds of years old vampires, this is probably the most normal we have seen this line up before. The storyline is quite relatable to the audiences that this film is going for, dealing with problems like flatmates, chores and whether you can get into best clubs...it is like a coming of age film, where our protagonists took bloody ages (excuse the pun) to actually come of age.

The funniest moments come when they play on the vampire movie conventions, like the scene where the gang play a trick on possible victims with a homage to The Lost Boys, but the can of spaghetti never actually changes, and moments where the vampires meet with the local pack of werewolves (led by another Flight Of The Concordes alumni Rhys Darby) and try to work out their differences. And always remember, they are WEREwolves, not swearwolves.

It has been a long while since we have gotten a good mockumentry. Far too many film makers try their best to live up to past cult classics and lose the heart of their film in the process, but What We Do In The Shadows does not do that one bit. Waititi and Clement have both took on what they do best and completely flourished with it. It is about time that 2014 got its cult classic.

What We Do In The Shadows is released in UK Cinemas 21st November