Film No. 57 (2014) August 20th. 6:45 PM HOYTS Carousel Cannington.
I nearly made a major mistake in my film going life recently. I very nearly wasn't bothered about going to see this small but very funny film What We Do In The Shadows. I'd seen the shorts so I knew it was another effort at the mockumentary genre; a genre which has had little success in recent years partially because of the standard set by This Is Spinal Tap all those years ago.
The film is even promoted under the guise of The New Zealand Documentary Board; a name they've added as part of their production company. Let me tell you, there is no official documentary funding body that would fund a "real life" depiction of how four vampire flatmates take their audience on a journey of murder, mayhem and blood sucking. All in jest of course, as we chuckle away at how difficult it is for the flatmates to get on if one or two are not pulling their weight around the house.
Vladislav (Jemaine Clement), Viago (Taika Waititi), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh) and Petyr (Ben Fransham) share a house in the suburbs of Wellington. We spend a good part of 48 hours with these "slackers" as they argue about house chores and how they are going to lure the next human into their lair. It's all silly but the lads are so loveable it doesn't matter. Using the camera as their tool, each tries to outperform the other using skills from erotic dance to levitation. Then there are the one liners like "That didn't go so great, I think I hit the main artery", as Viago's one night stand turns into a bloody mess.
The narrative is not strong and this is where the film has a weakness. One of their victims, Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer) becomes one of their own but he has trouble abiding by their code of confidentiality. The idea is great but the execution doesn't quite work. This is a minor triviality however; this film is a hoot. Rhys Darby (Flight of the Concords) turns up as the rival Werewolf pack leader trying all the time to be as polite as possible. There is much to be said for this variety of New Zealand deadpan humour. 10GUMS.
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