Figuring out how to look good for a night out on the town is difficult when you can’t see your reflection. That’s just one of the problems plaguing the four vampire roommates in What We Do in the Shadows, a comedy-horror mockumentary set in Wellington, New Zealand. Naturally, the vampires are concerned with finding human prey, but they also squabble over chores and are in search of a good time.
At night, they roam the town dressed in leather pants, ruffles and big fur coats, woefully out of touch with today’s fashions. And of course, they can get into nightclubs only if they’re invited in. Much of the movie’s humor comes from scenes with Stu, a regular-human computer programmer who becomes friends with the vampires, who in turn restrain themselves from killing him simply because they like him. That, and Stu can teach them useful things about modern technology, like how to YouTube videos of the sunrise.
Mockumentaries and vampires are overdone these days, but the combination here of deadpan humor, fully realized characters, and mixing the supernatural with the everyday world really works. This film feels fresher—and funnier—than anything that’s come out in recent memory.
Should You See It? Yes!
