When it comes to New Zealand films undoubtedly the person who has the made the biggest impact in recent years is Peter Jackson. Long before he was on his Tolkien trip and breathing life into books about precious rings and Hobbitses it was gory over the top splatastic horror comedy movies such as Bad Taste (1987) and Braindead (1992) that he was cutting his teeth with. Neither serious, nor even comedy-horror features have prospered since then in New Zealand a point one of the few active filmmakers of the genre David Blythe (director of Wound 2010) reiterated to us on this site when he was interviewed in 2012. It’s a surprise really as Jackson’s early films certainly received cult status and they should have inspired more up and coming directors from the country. Naturally there have been an odd exception but as Jonathon King’s Black Sheep (2006) proved those that did get made were on the whole mutton dressed as lamb!
Hopefully that could all be about to change as Jermaine Clement and Taika Waititi have resurrected things with What We Do In The Shadows a film far more worthy of the big screen than the Dead End Drive In. Already getting some notoriety, Clement as one half of musical act Flight Of The Conchords and Waititi as director of Eagle Vs Shark (2007) and Boy (2010), the pair have gone on as writers, directors and stars of this new ‘Vamcom’ centred around a group of bloodsuckers dealing with the trials and tribulations of modern life in Wellington. With the Twilight franchise and True Blood bringing the civilised vampire (compared to the lifeless, hungry driven ghoul of recent offerings such as The Strain) to mainstream sensibilities the time is perfect for a film of its nature and this is a fun and action packed romp that should have genre fans literally lapping it up.
A group of documentary makers have been given rare access to film these vampires who nest together going about their nightly routines, although unlike Man Bites Dog (1992) they stay very much out of the picture themselves leaving the house sharers to camp things up for the camera. They do this in style in a suitably aristocratic and aesthetic fashion that quickly has you endearingly being drawn to their characters. Vampire genre conventions are quickly established and pose problematic to their way of life. For example they cannot see themselves in mirrors so getting their appearance right is largely left down to advice from each other which can lead to some serious fashion faux pas. Also much as they would all like to go out and rave and party at the hottest clubs it’s not often that a bouncer is actually going to stand there and invite anyone in to do so, be they alive or dead. Frictions mount up between the four of them over trivial things such as that age old problem of doing the dishes and its remarkable the amount that pile up over the years especially as culinary skills are not exactly cordon bleu when they do have guests round for a bite.
Everything is done in a great fang in cheek way and there are some enjoyable nods to other films. Aged vampire Petryr (Peter Fransham) who is no stranger to roles such as this having been in ‘30 Days Of Night’ (2007) is particularly excellent in both make up and action as a total homage to F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922) and with all the exaggerated Transylvanian accents discussing ‘wirgins’ one cannot help but titter remembering Udo Kier’s camp count in Paul Morrisey’s Blood For Dracula (1974). In essence What We Do…. is a mockumentary doing for vampires what other underground favourites such as Legalize Murder (Nick Warden 2007) did for black metal, taking the viewer into a restricted world and making fun of it but doing so in a way that should have everyone laughing.
One thing that particularly caught my attention and was very successfully done is the way that the housemates talk about their early lives. Instead of going to the expense and time consuming task of filming flashback sequences things are represented in a fast edited collage of paintings and woodcuts from bygone times. A flash of famous artwork such as Goya’s ‘Saturn Devouring His Son’ works incredibly effectively at adding untold horror to the imagination of the viewer.
Although comedy horror films can be really hit and miss and let’s face it there are many a stinker, this crosses over well and should satisfy fans of horror films along with a mainstream audience. Although it is not a veritable bloodbath, being vampires there is naturally a level of comedic gore in it and add some good special effects, fight sequences, zombies and werewolves all similarly trying to cope with the modern trappings of death ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ is great entertainment and a film that you would simply be bats to miss!
(Pete Woods)
http://www.whatwedointheshadows.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAZEWtyhpes
04/12/2014 at 2:47 pm
Caught this at the local art house cinema and with the rest of the audience laughed like a drain throughout. Massively recommended.