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Review: What We Do in the Shadows

Erika Rasso
Apr 6, 2015
2 min read

Over the weekend, I decided to see the movie What We Do in the Shadows. My friends had gone to see it the week before and said two things: 1. It was hilarious and 2. I would appreciate the research gone into it. I wasn't completely sold at the beginning, but after they said one of the actors/producers/writers was Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords, I knew that what I was about to watch was going to be quality.

The movie is a mock-umentary about a group of vampires (the actual undead) living in an apartment together in Wellington, New Zealand. The documentary covers what they do in their everyday life as they prepare to attend an "unholy masquerade" for all vampires in the area. What impressed me the most about this film was their dedication to upholding the longstanding myths about vampires. They cover topics from daylight to feeding, to familiars and hypnosis.

This film wasn't your typical joke-punchline-laugh out loud kind of movie. It was the little things and awkward moments between the characters that really made it memorable, not to mention the scenes that would demonstrate a clear "cause and effect" to a vampire's actions. One of my favorite scenes was when one of the vampires, Viago, puts towels down around his victim before biting her neck to be as clean as possible, but accidently bites into her artery. It starts spraying all over the place, and the scene immediately cuts to the aftermath: Viago standing on a blood soaked carpet, covered in arterial spray. Another scene like this happens when a newly turned vampire goes to take a bite of a french fry, though the other vampires warn him not to, and the next scene shows the new vampire projectile vomiting into the street.

It sounds gruesome, but it's really not. It is really a low-key film, shown at Sundance film festival, but overall totally worth your time!

Give it a watch!