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What We Do in the Shadows

Film Specs

Released 2014
Directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi
1hr 26min
Rated R

What’s It All About

The 1 Sentence Summary of What We Do in the Shadows

A mockumentary following a group of New Zealand vampires in their everyday lives.

Cast and Director

Starring Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonny Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford and Ben Fransham, What We Do in the Shadows has plenty of gory laughs to go around. Directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, they were able to take the tired genre of vampires and create a mockumentary documenting hilariously normal moments with a vampiric spin.

Spoiler Alert

We’d much rather you watch the movie than read some of our favorite and least favorite parts about it. But if you have to know, check out our breakdown below.

There are so many funny scenes in this film, but perhaps the funniest is right at the beginning of the film when you are introduced to each of the vampires as they argue over flat chores. Just a banal and mundane scene made that much funnier because of the vampiric twist. The complaints over not doing the “bloody” dishes, and whether or not 8,000 year old Petyr is going to attend the flat meeting are just two of the funnier bits.

It’s hard not to like all of the vampires, but Deacon (Jonny Brugh), the 18th century dandy, is definitely one of the funnier ones. Plus, he has the added benefit of a love story maligned by wrong shipping postage on his coffin.

This is definitely a dark comedy, so very little in the scare department unless you are absolutely terrified of vampires, blood and spontaneous combustion. The moment that is scariest is when Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer), the new vampire to the crew, shows a shop clerk his “vampire” face. This of course, scares the store clerk more than it actually scares us.

The movie is definitely unique and not for everyone. The movie isn’t a scary dark comedy, so that might disappoint some viewers. However, if you go into the film knowing it is purely comedy with a vampiric twist, it is sure to not disappoint.

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Scare Critic Picks

Did you like What We Do in the Shadows as much as we did? If so, check out these other terrifyingly good movies based on Stephen King books:

Summary

Scare Critics Say: MUST WATCH

Scare Critic Review

If you're looking for something that is bloody funny, then you need to watch What We Do in the Shadows. Although the movie is considered a dark comedy, the movie is actually pretty light on the true horror theme (unless you have a deep fear of vampires and werewolves). This is definitely a movie to put on if you are wanting a good laugh.

Scares Breakdown

  • Blood/Guts
  • Killing
  • Werewolves and Vampires

Good

  • Good script
  • Good acting
  • Unique storyline

Bad

  • Too much "familiar" story line
  • Over the top at times
3.6
Average
Cast
3
Timing
4
Plot
4
Slapstick/Gags
4
Situational Comedy
3
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