Monday, October 5, 2015

A Spoopy Month #5: What We Do in the Shadows



Here's my first new movie review of the year! First off, watch that trailer there. If you're not interested in a satirical mockumentary about vampires trying to share a small flat and make it in the modern world, you might as well not bother reading the rest of the review.

So back in 2006, Jemaine "Conchord" Clement and his friend and comedy partner Taika Waititi made a short film named "What We Do In The Shadows," which served as the template for this feature-length version. 

Somehow, when this one came out back in February, I managed to read two bad reviews running and decided I didn't need to see it right away. The odds against that seem fairly high, since it's currently sitting at 96% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Luckily, a good friend (the one who got me watching "Flight of the Conchords" in the first place) gave me a positive review, so I finally got around to it.

I loved an awful lot of things about this. First, I watch a fair amount of mockumentary stuff (have I told you personally yet how much I'm enjoying the new Muppets show?) and I can't imagine a wholly new mockumentary joke that hasn't been done yet. This movie has one I can't remember seeing before, where a character spends nearly a full minute onscreen brushing his shirt and making a huge noise with his clip-on microphone.

Second, this has a great low-budget indie feel to it, and sometimes that genre can be my favorite in the world (I love, for example, Fido with all my heart.) It lets the characters breathe and be, for lack of a more precise term, human.

And of course, it's pretty funny. So, to sum up: vampire mockumentary. Roommate tension, werewolves and humans (and witches and zombies) all trying to coexist. Well worth your time.


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