#80 WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS

#80 WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS

Starring - Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, Rhys Darby, Jonathan Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer and Stu Rutherford.

Written and directed by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement. 85 minutes long.

The lives of four vampires living together in a shared house in the suburbs of Wellington New Zealand as they hold house-meetings, delegate housework, bicker and organise nights out to the local night clubs in search of blood, along the way meeting up with fellow creatures of the night, including the local werewolf pride, who are stern on the use of foul language, 'Remember, we're werewolves, not swearwolves!', over-worked familiars and dealing with a new breed of 21st Century vampires with no respect for tradition and the rules of blood drinking as they gear themselves up for the annual undead masquerade ball.

Never before as the life of the undead and the vampire been presented in such a staggeringly mundane and banal way before. With low-key performances, some wonderfully conceived sight gags and some well-written jokes this is a funny, fresh-feeling film, thanks in no small part to its New Zealand setting, no dreadful Vampires Suck or Scary Movie crapness for this fly on the wall documentary.

Each of the cinematic vampires, be they Nosferatu, Vlad the Poker or Lestat, are delightful, presenting their own unique take on the blood suckers and it's impressive that the film manages to be funny, sad and even at times rather touching. New Zealand has a long track record of funny horror films and this film is a welcome addition.

Not a note-perfect film for sure but nevertheless an enjoyable and downright silly film with a nice fresh rift on the whole vampire schtick and well worth a bite.

8/10