What We Do In The Shadows | Blogmas Day 6

Happy Blogmas Day 6!

Today's movie review is 'What We Do In The Shadows', one that I've been so excited to talk about!

This movie is about a group of vampires living in New Zealand, that are being followed by a film crew, in which we see how they live and the ordinary things that they do, such as arguing over whose turn it is to do the dishes. Then we meet Nick, who was only turned into a vampire two months previous. He, along with his human best friend Stu, are invited into the world of these vampires, and we see what life is really like for a newbie.

OMG, this film is freaking hilarious!

It was written and directed by Taika Waititi (who just directed and starred in Thor: Ragnarok, as well as 'Boy', which is such a charming lovely film {that's coming on Film4 tonight at 11.20pm}) and Jemaine Clement, who's been in films such as Men In Black 3 and Moana. They're New Zealand filmmakers, so it was really interesting for me to see the differences between an American, British and New Zealand brand of comedy.

I am a huge fan of the vampire genre. I loved the Twilight books, the Vampire Diaries, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dracula by Bram Stoker, the original Nosferatu film, and many other things that I can't remember, so I was really excited to watch this film.

I can't lie, the only reason I put it on is because I love Taika, as a filmmaker he's a genius, and as a person he's so hilarious it's insane, so I thought it would probably be an interesting watch.

However, I did not expect it to be as good, or as funny, as it was.

For me, when something is branded as a 'comedy' that's code for 'the writers tried their best to write jokes that they think an audience will laugh at'.
And don't get me wrong, this works for me a lot of the time, I love watching a good comedy and it doesn't take too much to make me laugh - which is probably why I love sitcoms like 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'Two and a Half Men'. But sometimes it doesn't work.

With this one, it didn't feel like they wrote it with the sole purpose of making you laugh. I know that the majority of the film was improvised and that really helped it, because the comedy just felt so natural, which is what made it so funny. Like, there's a clip where one of the vampires is about to bite a victim, but before he does, he lifts her feet up and puts down newspaper so that he doesn't make a mess. That was so hilarious and also realistic and interesting - it really gives you the personality of the vampire while also making you laugh. 30 minutes into the film I had already cried with laughter, it's that deep. I keep re-watching clips online just to prove to myself that it was as funny as I remember, and it is! I need to watch it again!

But seriously, find a way to see this film, because it is so worth it!

It's 19 days until Christmas!

Come back tomorrow for Blogmas day 7!