New Zealand | 21 November 2014 | Written and Directed by: Jermaine Clement and Taika Waititi | Starring: Jermaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh, Ben Fransham
The 2014 Bath Film Festival kicked off on Thursday 13th November and it is fair to say that the festival’s programmers could not have chosen a more appropriate curtain raiser. The festival began with two back-to-back sold out screenings of the unrelentingly funny What We Do In The Shadows; a New Zealand vampire mockumentary from Eagle vs Shark director Taika Waititi and Jermain Clement, better known as one half of musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords. It’s not the kind of film genre you’re used to hearing, but that is what makes it a stroke of comedy genius.
A buzz of anticipation filled Komedia as guests arrived for the Festival Launch Party that preceded What We Do In The Shadows. The audience included various prominent names of the film industry, members of the public and many BFF team members who were excited to see the manifestation of all their work from over the past year.
With the crowd in high spirits after a lot of wine and a couple of appreciation speeches from Festival Director Philip Raby and Producer Holly Tarquini, everyone shuffled in to view the opening feature of the festival. I unconfidently chose to sit on the beanbags right in front of the screen, though having done so, I can safely say it may be one of the most comfortable cinema experiences possible.
Before the film began, the audience were warmed up by Ben Aston’s Russian Roulette, a comical five-minute short film about a lonely girl who happens to come across an equally isolated Russian astronaut on the online chat website, Chatroulette. It’s a highly amusing short with a sentimental touch, which is definitely worth a watch.
What We Do In The Shadows concerns a mismatch of four vampire housemates who preside in Wellington and have allowed a documentary crew to film their night-to-night lives. Waititi and Clement both direct and star in this unique comedy; the former playing Viago, the polite and dutiful mediator of the group who lays down newspaper and wears a bib before tucking into his victims, whilst the latter plays Vladislav a flamboyant Medieval vampire, formerly known as ‘the poker’, who’s convinced he is the most powerful vamp around. They are accompanied by Deacon (Jonathan Brugh) the young bad-boy of the house, and Petyr (Ben Fransham), who being over eight thousand years old is a full-on monster who has to be kept in the basement to prevent him from wiping out the population of ‘Vellington’.
What the documentary crew discover is that vampires experience all the same problems as ordinary human beings. The opening scene sees the housemates sit down to a group meeting where they discuss the various chores that were meant to be done five years ago and ends with a hilariously pathetic scuffle, including lots of ‘hissing’ and flying about the room.
The bottom line is these vampires are far from the terrifying omnipotent creatures that you would expect them to be (besides Petyr); really they are a bunch of rather sweet gentlemen who were bitten centuries ago and are trying to deal with the consequences; the main one being they have to feed off the living.
The majority of the humour lies in all the clichés that Waititi and Clement have collated from centuries worth of vampire traditions and simply made fun of. Before a night out clubbing, the vamps can’t see what they look like owing to the lack of reflection and when they hit the town they can’t get in anywhere without being invited in. Their lives run alongside the equally calamitous pack of werewolves lead by a cautious alpha male (Rhys Darby) who helps his fellow wolves manage their anger issues by telling them to breathe deeply and count to 10.
Perhaps the most tragic of all are the humans. There’s Jackie, the faithful servant, who spends her days washing the bloodstains out of Deacon’s blouses in the false hope that he will one day make her a vampire; Stu, who teaches the group helpful aspects of modern life like using Facebook and Skype seemingly unaware he could be added to the menu at any minute; and then there’s the innumerable gormless victims who fall for the vampires silly tricks and end up being sucked on like a half-time orange slice.
It has been a very long time since I’ve sat in a cinema surrounded by hoards of laughing people. The documentary approach of recording certain episodes in the characters lives whilst switching back to interviews and history lesson style exposition, keeps the audience on its toes; and the masses of deadpan one-liners that the Flight of the Conchords fans will be used to, allow a rapid succession of laughs. There is also an appealing camaraderie between the cast members, which becomes all the more noticeable as the film goes on. You can tell that all who were involved had a lot of fun making the film and that feeling is transferred to the audience.
What We Do In The Shadows is a refreshing experience in the light of the most recent contributions to the vampire film catalogue, which have majorly concerned stories of pale-faced teenagers moping around the woods and unconvincingly falling in love. This film rightfully takes it place with some of the classic mockumentaries of our time including This Is Spinal Tap (1984) and Best In Show (2000); every character is utterly hilarious and engaging in their own individual way and it is an absolute pleasure witnessing what they get up to in the shadows.
Jimminy Critic 