What clever fun! What We Do in the Shadows is a mockumentary (yep, new word I’d never heard until this flick) that takes a “real world”-ish view of a few vampires who share a flat in New Zealand. And it does it with wit and a wink and a whole lot of laughter.
On the one hand, I had seen the previews a number of times, so the initial funny scenes felt a step below they had on first viewing. But hanging in as the film progresses, following these flatmates as they live their lives, the fun never stopped but instead just kept coming, cleverly portraying these gents and those they met along the way. A time or two the film slowed down, but it promptly picked right back up.
Oh — mockumentary? Well, it’s a mock documentary, of course. And it also mocks documentaries in a way. It’s shot in a documentary style, with a film crew obviously following these gents around, filming them as if they were a few guys living in any apartment in any city, sharing a house, squabbling over doing dishes, having a house meeting, and fighting over the newest victim for who gets to drink his blood. Oh, wait. That last part is unique to this film. ; )
If you’ve a chance to catch this at a theater or on home release, I definitely recommend it! Great entertainment!