What we do in the Shadows review: Docs in the spot... light

Okay... so combine a horror film and a documentary and what do you get... the incredible mockumentary What we do in the Shadows (2014). It depicts the life of four vampires living in Wellington, New Zealand and trying to deal with the difficulties of the modern world and and the challenges of the all too real and all to dysfunctional relationships between themselves. "When you get four vampires

living together in a flat, obviously there is going to be a lot of tension," opines Vadislav. He is one of the older vampires, though their ages ranges from 183 to 8,000 years old. The film is shot in a cinema verite style. The same kind of approach reflective of MTV's Real Word or a plethora of many other reality shows. The high drama is found in the squabbles over household chores, struggle to keep up with the latest trends in technology and fashion, antagonize the local werewolves, cruise clubs for lovely ladies, and deal with the rigors of living on a very, very strict diet.

Though the main vampire Viago is the central focus, for most of the movie Deacon and the Nosferatu appearing Petyr round out the cast. The reason the Vampires allowed themselves to be filmed by a human documentary crew was so that they could follow the vampires to a yearly meeting of undead of all sorts called "THE UNHOLY MASQUERADE." In building up to that moment and even that moment itself is hilarious. The more you know about vampire lore... the funnier the comedy and situations are. If it sounds like I'm being vague... its

because I am.

Go into this film with no expectations and you will find it astoundingly funny. If you enjoy the humor of mockumentaries like This is Spinal Tap, you will enjoy this very clever film. This should come as no surprise as the comedy duo behind this film were also behind the well received BBC radio and HBO's comedy Flight of the Conchords (2000). This film received a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it was called "goofily amusing" by the New York Times and Rolling Stone warns that "you won't be able to wipe the smile from your face." There are confirmed rumors of a sequel that follows the werewolves called We're Wolves is in production. If you need further proof of the style of film this is... check out the review.