What We Do in the Shadows

The second movie on my quest to watch 100 films for the first time is Taika Waititi's 2014 film, What We Do In The Shadows. This is the third of Waititi's films that I have seen with the other two being Boy (2010) and Thor: Ragnarok (2017). I had friends recommend this to me before and ,trusting their words, I put it on my Amazon Prime Watch List...about a year and a half ago. But luckily it is still available on Prime so better late than never.

Opting to frame the story in a mockumentary style was a smart choice since it allowed the characters to give exposition in a diegetic way. Waititi's comedic sensibilities remind me of Edgar Wright with how both emphasize sharp dialogue, character interactions, and using background elements for jokes. Though a major difference between the two comes in the form of their post production. Wright is famous for his stylistic editing while Waititi opts to keep his editing fairly plain in order to enhance the viewer's immersion. While I enjoy Wright's quick cuts they do take you out of the story to some degree.

There are funnier pics I could have used but wanted to avoid spoilers.

Instead What We Do In The Shadows contextualizes the structural elements of the film by framing it as a documentary, thus increasing the immersion and squarely keeping the audience's focus on the characters and their world instead of how it is being shown to us. Speaking of the characters they are all great with each having a distinctive, fun personalities and the actors portraying them having good chemistry with one another. Admittedly not every joke lands but a majority of them do, with me constantly laughing throughout my viewing. The practical effects in the film are surprisingly well done considering the smaller budget the production had.

My only real complaint with the film is that certain characters could have used more screen time, with one group in particular deserving at least one additional scene given how they factor into the resolution. Though that is a pretty minor gripe and not enough to stop me from strongly recommending this film to anyone interested in it. It's smartly written, well acted, has a nice pace, and is less than 90 minutes long which makes it easy to watch even if you have a busy schedule. So there is no excuse to not sink your teeth into this vampiric experience.