Review: What We Do in the Shadows
Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh star in a film written and directed by Clement and Waititi.
If you’re still holding your breath for a Flight of the Conchords (FOC) reboot, well, you should probably stop doing that. Once you catch a lungful, though, you should jog over to see What We Do in the Shadows. FOC alum Jemaine Clement cowrites, codirects, and costars in this mockumentary about three hapless vampires named Viago (cowriter/director Taika Waititi), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), and Vladislav (Clement) trying to cohabitate in a rundown old mansion. Like Conchords, the tone is offbeat, landing more on the British side of the comedy spectrum than the overtly American one. The trio spends the majority of the film’s barely there plot squabbling over the mundane, like who has slacked on the chores, or why the curtains need to be closed during the day. Outside of the house, they hop back and forth from vampire nightclub to vampire nightclub, trying to score with (read: exsanguinate) virgins and pick fights with the neighborhood werewolf gang. There’s also a lot of fake bloodletting, so if you’re squeamish, consider yourself warned.
At its climax, What We Do in the Shadows briefly flirts with sentimentality before its characters morph back into the typical idiots they’re supposed to be, leaving us with a sense of satisfaction akin to that which came with the best Flight of the Conchords episodes. After that, though, our three bloodsuckers stage a knockdown, drag-out full-moon brawl in the local park that kind of kills their human best friend. If only all juvenile humor was this smart.
