What We Do In The Shadows (2014)
Directed & Written by Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement
Starring: Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, Rhys Darby, Jonathan Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford
Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are vampires who are finding that modern life has them struggling with the mundane – like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts.
My Opinion:
Finally! I finally saw this! I remember contemplating going into London to watch this last year as nowhere local to me was playing it. I hate that. Was it worth the wait? Yeah, it’s pretty damn funny. I liked it! Would it have been worth a journey into London just to watch it? Hmm… Not really.
I don’t have a lot to say about this one, to be honest. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it – it’s just that the quote up there on the poster,”The Spinal Tap of vampire movies“, is all that really needs to be said. It’s a mockumentary about a group of vampires with very different personalities (thanks in part to their vast age differences) who live together in a flat. There are some pretty clever jokes and I thought they did a good job covering a lot of aspects of modern day life that centuries-old vampires would struggle with. I mean, seriously – it’s gotta be hard to go out for a night on the town when you actually have to be invited into any of the bars & clubs you wish to visit. I far prefer these socially awkward vampire misfits to the cool & sexy Interview With The Vampire types. Or those Twilight twats!
I’ve had a Flight Of The Conchords DVD collecting dust in my house for years. Well, it’s not been collecting dust as long as my too-expensive Lars Von Trier Riget DVD set… God I used to buy way too many DVDs that I never watched! Anyway, maybe I should dust off Flight Of The Conchords now? Did anyone here watch that show? Based on this movie, if the humor is similar since it’s from the same dude, I suppose I should finally check it out. What We Do In The Shadows is certainly not as funny as This Is Spinal Tap, though. No no no. No way! But no mockumentary will ever beat that one. This movie is my type of thing, though, and I say this too often lately but I do appreciate that movies like this still get made sometimes. They make up for all the utter shit out there! I wish more cinemas would give them a chance and I wouldn’t have to travel into London just to have the opportunity to see films that are remotely interesting or original. It’s also cool that the characters are so different in this that anyone watching the movie will probably have a favorite. I’m sure I’m not alone in liking Petyr the most. Gotta love that crazy Nosferatu-looking bastard! Even if he really doesn’t pull his weight as a flatmate.
Summary:
Umm… Shit. Yeah – like the poster says, this is really just the Spinal Tap of vampire movies. There you go! I realize this is a super short review but you can’t say it any better than that. You either like that sort of thing or you don’t. I do. And, yes, any movie that references The Lost Boys will earn bonus points with me. 😉 But will this movie make the obvious Top Ten I’ll be doing tomorrow (My Top Ten Horror Comedies)? You’ll just have to wait & see!
My Rating: 7.5/10
Sounds like a pretty decent film. Another to add to the list.
It is! It’s a lot of fun. Definitely worth checking out. 🙂
I absolutely loved this film. It has so many great lines. And the Lost Boys references are hilarious – “it doesn’t work with chips”
And you need to watch Flight of the Conchords, its very very funny
Mike! Hi!!! Where have you been? Have you posted anything lately?? I loved those Lost Boys references! Guess I better dig out that Flight of the Conchords DVD… 🙂
Sorry been on a break. Posted a review a few weeks ago but I’ll try and write something soon. I still love reading your blog though 🙂
I LOVE Flight of the Conchords – but it’s a polarizing show, very few think it’s OK.
Sounds promising!
Sorry – fell behind on replying to comments! Well, if you like Flight of the Conchords, I would think you’d like this. You should check it out! 🙂
I absolutely LOVE this movie. It is unquestionably stupid but in a very good way to me. I do get where it wouldn’t all work for some though.
Sorry – fell behind on replying to comments! Glad to hear from another fan. 🙂 I can see why some wouldn’t like it as well but bloggers seem to like it!
Loved this film. I was genuinely creasing myself and I haven’t laughed the way I did for quite some time. A real treat.
Flight of the Conchords is good stuff too. It takes a while to get into the vibe of it but it’s quite a surreal little series with some great musical numbers.
Sorry, Mark – fell behind on replying to comments! Glad to hear from yet another fan of this. 🙂 I’ll definitely check out Flight of the Conchords now.
Pingback: My Top Ten Horror Comedies | Cinema Parrot Disco
This movie was one of the best movies I have seen in ages! I am glad you finally saw it 🙂 What We Do In The Shadows was hilarious, and I laughed out loud so many times – definitely a stroke of brilliance. ❤
And it is SO quotable!
I’m so glad I finally saw it too! 🙂 Think it’s one that would grow on me as well. I’d actually like to watch it again soon & I rarely re-watch anything lately. I wish more movies like it were being made…
Ooh, I also have Flight of the Conchords on my unwatched DVD pile… and Riget too! To be honest, you could name almost anything and I’d likely say, “yep, that’s on my unwatched DVD pile” — including What We Do in the Shadows. Sounds good though.
Ha! So many of our DVDs still have the packaging on them… You should try to watch this one, though. It’s a lot of fun! 🙂
If you enjoyed this, you’ll dig Flight of the Conchords. I love their stage performances; perfect combination of music and comedy. Great idea.
Okay, everyone has now said that Flight of the Conchords is great so I really better dig it out. I do love comedy music. I was a big fan of the Tenacious D thing. 🙂
Oh fuck yeah, you’ll get a major kick out of Conchords then. Tenacious D is great, but Conchords is a step above in my estimation. 😉
Flight of the Conchords is hilarious.
I’m definitely going to dig the DVD out – loads of people have now told me that I should. 🙂
Pingback: Happy Halloween! My Horror Month Roundup | Cinema Parrot Disco
Pingback: My Top Ten Movies That Are 90 Minutes Or Less | Cinema Parrot Disco
Reblogged this on Cinema Parrot Disco and commented:
Welcome to Day 1 of my Three Day Event of “Horror Comedies From New Zealand!”. There are actually a lot of these but, yeah, I’m only doing three. Today I’m reblogging my review of What We Do In The Shadows, which I’ll already tell you that I enjoyed much more than the ones I’ll review over the next two days…
Pingback: Housebound (2014) Review | Cinema Parrot Disco
I loved this film. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as hard at anything as I did with this film hehe
Glad you loved it too! It really is pretty damn hilarious. I like SO few comedies. I love it when one actually makes me laugh. : )
Pingback: Deathgasm (2015) Review | Cinema Parrot Disco
Pingback: My Blog’s October 2016 Horror Month Recap | Cinema Parrot Disco
Pingback: Moana (2016) Review | Cinema Parrot Disco