What We Do In The Shadows (2015)

What We Do In The Shadows (R)

"BAT FIGHT!"

Four Vampire roommates in New Zealand allow a camera crew into their den, a flat in Wellington that is soaked in blood and laughter in the new mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows.

Ridiculous and raucous, the flatmates interpersonal relationships drive the film as we discover the weird and zany lives of bloodsuckers.  Co-written, starring and co-directed by Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement (of HBOs Flight of the Conchords), the film offers a peek into the underbelly world of the undead as they deal with finding victims, taunting (s)werewolves and doing the (literally) bloody dishes.  Flatmates include Viago as a vampiric neat freak with a hole in his dead heart, Vladislav the Prodder has serious issues with his Ex leading to a lack of self confidence, Deacon is the brash newcomer at only 183 years old, and their terrifying master 8000 year old vampire Petyr sleeps in a sarcophagus in a basement covered with gore and bones.  When Petyr converts a new kid named Nick to his brood, tensions arise in the house as rules are broken and fashion is stolen, leading to brushes with vampire hunters and irritable lycanthropes, culminating at the annual Undead masquerade ball where a human friend and the camera crew itself is in mortal danger from the attendees.

The film is often hilarious, the premise of mixing vampire jokes with bad roommate jokes is fantastic and rife with humor.  The NZ cast is funny, the mockumentary angle, while trite, is effective, and it hits all the right veins of humor and horror.  The camera work and editing can be a bit rough at times, but the special effects work in its favor and the characters will win over your black heart as they charm your neck out of hemoglobin and laughter.  Perhaps a bit of a trifle, and it's low budget nature does rear it's shaggy head now and again, but in general you will be too distracted by the humor and good intentions of the filmmakers to mind being hypnotized into liking this silly goof-off

8 Vampires Vacuuming Vehemently out of 10 (GREAT)