What We Do in the Shadows

Starring: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonny Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford, Ben Fransham, Jackie van Beek, Rhys Darby
Directed by: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Horror
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary:
Three vampires try to adapt to modern life in New Zealand.

Review:

Tim: There's a goofy silliness to What We Do in the Shadows that makes the movie fun. I went into this having heard very good things about the movie and certainly enjoyed some of the things Taika Watiti had done in the years following this one. I enjoyed this movie, but I didn't quite see what made it a cult classic. It's a good movie, but not much more than that.

The pairing of Jemaine Clement and Taika Watiti both behind the camera (as writers and directors) and in front of the camera (as the leads) is a great partnership. They feel like very different people, but have similar comedic sensibilities. They work well together and play off each other effectively. They partnered here to create some larger-than-life characters. It seemed like they genuinely had fun together.

I'm not sure that the premise of this comedic look at vampires was original, but approaching it as a modern story and the documentary angle certainly helped make this film feel different. Although, to be frank, that never fully worked for me. They didn't sell me on why this documentary was being made. How did it start? What did the filmmakers think about stumbling into real vampires in New Zealand? How could they continue filming when some really weird and potentially deadly things started to occur? It felt like this approach was taken for film-making reasons without truly selling it as a narrative device. It does feel unique, but also not believable.

Probably my biggest complaint was that I didn't find the movie all that funny. It was entertaining, but I didn't laugh all that much. The only moment I remember laughing is during the "We're werewolves, not swearwolves" line, which is remarkable and truly hilarious. I suppose I found other aspects humorous, but not especially funny. The story makes use of vampire tropes for laughs, but it wasn't a brilliant deconstruction of vampire lore for comedic purposes. It was kind of funny. The jokes often fell flat- this happened continuously throughout the movie. The best parts of the film are never the big attempts at humor- they're the small, quirky things that take place. This creates great moments, but not a great film. The movie felt like it was ad-libbed too much. I read that most of the movie was improvised and then a great deal of footage was cut down to make the movie. That feels like an issue to me. These actors are funny at times, but they aren't consistently funny. Improvisation will rarely create a great film. This one needed to be more intentionally developed.

I really like both Clement and Watiti. Clement has this wonderful voice and presence- he makes for a believable vampire. He has this wonderful way of appearing both regal and ridiculous and it's that combination that works so well here. He might have been my favorite part of the film. Watiti is wonderful at connecting with the audience- his eyes are so expressive, and his willingness to appear silly endears you to him. I did think his performance was a little too over-the-top. He's funny, but he was trying quite hard. Contrast this with Stu Rutherford, clearly not an actor, and someone who doesn't try at all. I liked Rutherford here because he wasn't good at all- that grounded the movie some. I thought Jonny Brugh was clearly outmatched by Clement and Watiti. He's fine, but doesn't compare to those two.

What We Do in the Shadows is a good movie and it's an impressive look into the minds of Clement and Watiti. However, it felt too loose, too ill-defined and not nearly funny enough for me to love it. I'm glad I watched it, but it's one of those films where I don't get what all the fuss about it is.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Jojo Rabbit, Thor: Ragnarok