What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Country: NZ
Technical: col 86m
Director: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi
Cast: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonny Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Jackie van Beek
Synopsis:
Four vampires of varying longevity share an apartment in downtown Wellington, N.Z. They are 'shadowed' by a documentary film crew, through whom we meet their familiar, who yearns for eternal life, a recent convert who rues the day, and a woke group of werewolves trying their hardest not to hurt anyone.
Review:
Very much paying homage to the Christopher Guest 'mockumentary' format inaugurated by This Is Spinal Tap, Waititi's film is surefooted in tone, maintaining a balance between affectionate parody and updated relevance in the detail: the ambiguity of a +1 invite to an undead party; the nicety of dispensing health and safety advice in a charnel house. However, it is never really funny enough and, for all its chaotic free-form edit of over 100 hours' footage, it does rather run out of ideas. None of which stopped it from being hugely popular or returning as a TV series.
Country: NZ
Technical: col 86m
Director: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi
Cast: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonny Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Jackie van Beek
Synopsis:
Four vampires of varying longevity share an apartment in downtown Wellington, N.Z. They are 'shadowed' by a documentary film crew, through whom we meet their familiar, who yearns for eternal life, a recent convert who rues the day, and a woke group of werewolves trying their hardest not to hurt anyone.
Review:
Very much paying homage to the Christopher Guest 'mockumentary' format inaugurated by This Is Spinal Tap, Waititi's film is surefooted in tone, maintaining a balance between affectionate parody and updated relevance in the detail: the ambiguity of a +1 invite to an undead party; the nicety of dispensing health and safety advice in a charnel house. However, it is never really funny enough and, for all its chaotic free-form edit of over 100 hours' footage, it does rather run out of ideas. None of which stopped it from being hugely popular or returning as a TV series.
Country: NZ
Technical: col 86m
Director: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi
Cast: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonny Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Jackie van Beek
Synopsis:
Four vampires of varying longevity share an apartment in downtown Wellington, N.Z. They are 'shadowed' by a documentary film crew, through whom we meet their familiar, who yearns for eternal life, a recent convert who rues the day, and a woke group of werewolves trying their hardest not to hurt anyone.
Review:
Very much paying homage to the Christopher Guest 'mockumentary' format inaugurated by This Is Spinal Tap, Waititi's film is surefooted in tone, maintaining a balance between affectionate parody and updated relevance in the detail: the ambiguity of a +1 invite to an undead party; the nicety of dispensing health and safety advice in a charnel house. However, it is never really funny enough and, for all its chaotic free-form edit of over 100 hours' footage, it does rather run out of ideas. None of which stopped it from being hugely popular or returning as a TV series.