Review: What We Do In The Shadows is a vampire film that isn’t a pain in the neck

HERE comes the mockumentary the vampire world has been crying out for. This very funny low-budget film explores the everyday - or, everynight - lives of four vampires.

What We Do in the Shadows (M)

Directors : Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement

Starring : Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, Jonathan Brugh, Ben Fransham, Rhys Darby.

Rating : ***1/2

They only wish to fang you very much

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Here comes the mockumentary the vampire world has been crying out for.

Especially now that the world has gotten over that so-soft-too-serious Twilight phenomenon.

Made on a low budget in New Zealand, this very funny film chronicles the everyday - or rather, everynight - lives of four bloodsuckers sharing a rundown flat in suburban Wellington.

As we soon come to learn from What We Do in the Shadows, this seemingly ordinary Kiwi metropolis actually hosts a multi-cultural community of creepy-crawly types from across the undead spectrum.

Bloody funny ... What We Do in the Shadows from Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement.

Werewolves roam the council parks of an evening. Zombies stagger up and down the alleyways. Vampires have their own dedicated night at a local bar.

As the film begins, we meet the immortal quartet who have invited an all-mortal documentary crew into their shambolic abode.

Viago (Taika Waititi) is 379 years of age, and still gets around in frilly 18th century garb. He is also the gentleman of the group, thoughtfully laying out fresh newspaper on the floor before feeding on his next victim.

Not so serious ... What We Do in the Shadows.

Vlad (Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords) is 862, and is more your traditional Transylvanian pantsman. He’s not just going to bite any unwilling lady. Looks are important to Vlad.

The same cannot be said of the elder statesman of the household, 8000-year-old Petyr (Ben Fransham). If it’s got a pulse, Petyr will drain it in seconds flat.

Quirky cast ... from What We Do in the Shadows.

The youngster of the gang is Deacon (Jonathan Brugh). At 183, he is a relative teenager among this long-living lot. Deacon has his very own mortal slave, a housewife named Jackie (Jackie Van Beek), at his beck and call. He is also still incredibly proud of his time served as a consultant to the Nazis during WW2.

Our time spent with this crew amounts to no more than a collection of semi-improvised comic sketches, with an occasional formal interview thrown in (a la This is Spinal Tap) to keep the jokes coming at rapid speed.

Elaborate costumes ... a scene from What We Do In the Shadows.

However, despite the simple structure - and a crack at every obvious vampire gag in the book - the film remains highly amusing from beginning to end.

There is a winning camaraderie at work among the cast that becomes all the more irresistible as What We Do ... continues to do its thing.

Though Waititi and Clement (who also share writing and directing credits here) are the clear standouts, special mention must go to another Conchords regular, Rhys Darby, as the puritanical leader of the local werewolf pack.

Originally published as Review: What We Do In The Shadows is a vampire film that isn’t a pain in the neck