What We Do in the Shadows

Good, light, quirky, bloody, and humorous. Each of the main trio has their own personality and design and what makes them the bizarre characters they are. Not terribly hilarious, but there are tons of funny comments and situations. Not laugh-out-loud material, probably because the Transylvanian voices they put on doesn't allow for a natural punch-line delivery, but it is amusing and charming. It's an original film, and one that manages to make the horror-comedy actually work. I enjoyed watching it, and the pack of werewolves are pretty cool too. The Nosferatu-type vampire, Petyr, is pretty scary. Deacon has great facial and physical humour. Viago is the slightly camp and feminine vampire. Vladislav is the cool womanizing type who is a bit like Drax in that he doesn't really get metaphors and such. The main three just work well together.

I'm really glad I've seen What We Do in the Shadows because when I was in Australia in September last year, it was being advertised as coming to cinemas, and I just missed it. So I am happy to finally watch, and it's STILL before everyone else! It's a refreshingly fun vampire comedy. Good stuff, New Zealand (my first and only film I've seen from there).

B

Watch Fresh Meat if you get the chance (and Braindead!)

Oh wait, I've seen Bad Taste. That's a New Zealand film, I believe. Isn't Braindead! also a Jackson film?

Just wondering, are the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films seen as New Zealand films?

Fresh Meat looks fun.

They are New Zealand co-productions, sure. Not purely New Zealand films, though. Braindead is much better than Bad Taste and, yes, it is a Jackson film. Fresh Meat is fun and sexy.

Cool, cool, cool, well, I'll check it out for sure.

I haven't read any posts for fear of spoilers, but just on your own knowledge of American Cinema do you guys think this will ever see a somewhat wide release in the States? Or should I just download the screener?

It should, but it probably won't.

There's no screener. It's a Blu-Ray rip. But yeah, I don't see it getting a wide-wide release, but it getting a US release in February.

The level of hilarity in the New Zealand vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows is almost unfathomable. Spearheaded by Flight of the Conchords musical parodist Jemaine Clement and frequent collaborator Taika Waititi, the film is, beat for beat, one-liner for one-liner, set piece for set piece, one of the zaniest, most inspired, and most amusing comedies in recent memory. The informal, improvisation-inviting storyline revolves around a documentary crew who, promised safety and adorned with crucifixes, film the day-to-day lives of four vampires ranging in age from a fresh-faced century to 8,000 years. Whether going for the juvenile jugular—a month-old vampire samples a plate of french fries and projectile vomits blood—or playing a more subtle and tender comic note—the undead flatmates are at once intrigued and mystified by the ever-changing technological world around them—the film is perfectly calibrated and performed with the utmost exuberance. And it has an enormous amount of fun deconstructing and referencing popular culture's vampire mythology, shaped as it is by, among others, Blade, Nosferatu, and Twilight. (It is hard to get into a nightclub when the bouncer must invite you in!) All in all, this is a unique and delectable gem destined to find a place alongside such beloved genre-blending pictures as Evil Dead II and Shaun of the Dead.

A-

Good man!

Yay!!! It's finally opening at a theater near me thats not a pain to get to. I'm gonna see it on Sunday and I'm super pumped.

we're werewolves, not swearwolves

I've had a few close calls, but this is the first time that I've literally been the only person in the theater for a movie. Although it sucks that it was for a comedy, I don't think it deterred my enjoyment of it.

And enjoy it very much I did! The concept might have been better suited for television, as it drifts along sometimes, but everything comes together at the end to make it a very rewarding experience. So many little jokes constantly being thrown at you, and I was touched by their friendship with Stu, the human. Although its fun to watch these characters trip and fall, it was ultimately very satisfying to see them all come away happier.

A must see for any genrebending fans, comedy fans or vamfans.

If there was any film fit for a TV series adaptation as a sitcom, this is it.

I think "Being Human (UK)" is the closest thing to this in terms of tone and setting.