Reviewed! What We Do in the Shadows …

Being undead doesn’t exempt you from the mundane realities of life, especially when mealtimes are such an unholy mess. Stock up on plenty of paper towel, ensure you put down newspaper to prevent carpet stains, and employ a garden hose if necessary. After all, you might find yourself living in your apartment for the next few hundred years, so you’ll be wanting to keep things nice.

Mockumentaries are done to death (pardon the pun) and vampire films are starting to really suck (couldn’t help myself), and yet Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) and Taika Waititi (Boy) have codirected what can only be described as an incredibly fresh and amusing take on some trite old tropes of the vampire genre in What We Do in the Shadows. The film manages to pack as much hilarity and absurdity into its 87 minutes as inhumanly possible. That’s not even enough time to bleed out, really.

We’re presented with four vampire stereotypes– the traditional Bram Stoker variety encapsulated by Vladislav (Clement), the demon-from-hell ancient Nosferatu-type in Petyr (Ben Fransham), the 19th century lovelorn and tragic figure Viago (Waititi), and Lost Boys bad boy Deacon (Jonathon Brugh). (At one point Deacon serves up cold spaghetti-in-a-tin to his victims, replicating the “you’re eating maggots, Michael” moment.)

The four vamps have somehow found themselves in Wellington, New Zealand, and are managing daily domestic issues like washing up endless piles of “bloody dishes”, trying to get into nightclubs by convincing security staff to “invite” them in, and keeping up with fashion (“I go for a look I call ‘dead but delicious’” – Vladislav).

The result is clever, subtle, utterly Kiwi and utterly self-effacing. The chaps are constantly running into strife – like choosing questionable victims as progeny, haplessly lusting after love affairs gone wrong, accidentally hitting the carotid artery and causing a terrible mess, or losing friends in unfortunate run-ins with arch nemesis werewolves.

And unlike the ubiquitous, seemingly all-powerful creatures we’re usually faced with, these guys are more likely to trip over discarded spinal columns and projectile vomit after indulging in hot chips than fight for vampire supremacy True Blood style. We’re not in Romania or London here – bloody hell, we’re not even in Brooklyn – we’re in local and low-key New Zealand, and the results of placing these archetypal characters here are as incongruous as Paris Hilton working on a farm in her dubious TV show The Simple Life.

It all culminates in the annual undead gala ball – the Unholy Masquerade – at the Mt Victoria Bowls Club. What ensues is a bloody fantastic showdown sure to leave Buffy’s boyfriend turning in his coffin.

4 stars

What We Do in the Shadows is currently showing at the State Cinema, Hobart.
Amber Wilson. Pub: Sept 5