Reviews Nobody Asked For: What We Do in the Shadows

I read an internet joke post recently that Taika Waititi is a “new immortal,” born sometime in the 1700s and living through the hilarious part of his teenage rebellion phase.

After watching What We Do in the Shadows I refuse to believe that he does anything other than dress in full 1800s dandy vampire regalia and try to make everyone be friends. It would explain a lot about Thor: Ragnarok.

If you haven’t seen it yet, WWDITS tells the story of four vampire flatmates trying to survive in 21st century New Zealand. It’s hysterical, heartwarming, and gory all at the same time - sort of Sean of the Dead meets Sex Education.

All in all, I probably goose-cackle laughed a solid six or seven times, which is five or six times more than most comedies make me laugh nowadays. A totally original vampire comedy with endless twists on the traditional tropes. I am a huge lover of really stupid, borderline infantile puns, and I just about cried at “we‘re werewolves, not swearwolves.”

Also! The special effects were unbelievably good, to the point where they looked like they were seamless parts of the documentary. I was endlessly impressed with how fluid the entire “mockumentary” was - it felt completely realistic to have four middle aged dudes living together and casually murdering people while arguing over whose turn it is to wash the dishes. Maybe New Zealand is just like that nowadays.

It‘s free to watch on Amazon Prime right now and I can’t recommend it enough. Five capes raised with a hiss out of five!

Cover image from GeekTyrant.