WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi with Clement, Waititi, Jonathan Brugh and Stuart Rutherford. A VSC release. 85 minutes. Opens Friday (February 13). Rating: NNNN
Where to watch: iTunes
Using a mockumentary format, director/stars Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement – old friends whose previous collaborations include Eagle Vs Shark and several episodes of Flight Of The Conchords – deliver a giddy, mostly improvised look at the lives of a quartet of vampire flatmates in Wellington, New Zealand.
The movie’s sense of humour falls somewhere between deadpan and bloody hysterical, as the centuries-old predators annoy each other with petty personal tics and egotistical attempts to out-cool one another.
Clement camps it up as the brooding Vladislav, who carries himself like the Kiwi Nick Cave – though in fairness, he was probably doing that centuries before Cave was born.
And Waititi is adorable as the good-natured Viago, smiling awkwardly at the camera while wiping off the blood from his latest fumbled attempt at feeding. You have to love the little monster.
