What We Do in the Shadows

A documentary crew was granted access to a flat in Wellington, New Zealand, where four vampires have shared quarters for the better part of a century. The resulting film, directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, records their nightly routines: the chore wheel, the disputes over dirty dishes, the awkward attempts to secure a victim's consent before feeding. Viago, played by Waititi, is a dandy from the 18th century still nursing a broken heart. Clement's Vladislav is a medieval warlord whose torture technique has lost its edge. Jonny Brugh's Deacon, at 183 the youngest, resents doing housework. And in the basement lives Petyr, an 8,000-year-old nosferatu who speaks in hisses and resembles Count Orlok.

The arrival of a newly turned vampire named Nick, played by Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, and his mortal friend Stu, a computer programmer, disrupts the household's equilibrium. Nick's indiscretion and social media habits draw unwanted attention from the local werewolf pack and threaten the secrecy the vampires have maintained for centuries. The film builds its comedy from the collision of ancient monsters with modern bureaucracy and flat-share politics, using the mockumentary format to let its characters address the camera directly and air their petty grievances.

Shot for $1.6 million, the film grossed approximately $6.3 million worldwide and became a cult favorite. Its success led to an FX television series that relocated the premise to Staten Island and ran for six seasons. A sequel focused on Rhys Darby's werewolf pack, titled We're Wolves, has been reported as moving forward. [edit]

A camera crew follows Viago, Vladislav, Deacon, and Petyr through the streets of Wellington after dark. Viago, who left his mortal love Katherine behind in the 18th century, still keeps her portrait and laments the loss. Vladislav, once a feared warlord known as Vladislav the Poker, now struggles to intimidate anyone and has lost his ability to transform into a bat. Deacon, the youngest at 183, chafes at his subordinate status and refuses to do chores. Petyr, the ancient nosferatu in the basement, communicates in hisses and is treated with a mixture of reverence and neglect. The flat operates on a chore wheel that Deacon ignores, and the vampires bicker over dirty dishes and who forgot to lay down newspaper before feeding.

Their familiar, Jackie, a human woman who runs errands in exchange for the promise of eventual immortality, procures victims and handles logistics. The vampires' hunting technique is haphazard: they struggle with modern concepts of consent and are fastidious about the mess. One evening, Petyr turns a human hipster named Nick, who emerges from the basement as a brash and insufferable new vampire. Nick brings along his mortal best friend Stu, a computer programmer whose technical skills prove unexpectedly useful. The vampires find Stu fascinatingly mundane, and his calm presence contrasts with Nick's efforts to impress.

Nick's loose lips and habit of posting on social media threaten to expose the supernatural community. The local werewolf pack, led by Anton (Rhys Darby), confronts the vampires over Nick's behavior, and the encounter is tense and awkward. Anton's pack follows strict protocols, including a rule against swearing, which the vampires find absurd. Meanwhile, Jackie grows impatient with the vampires' failure to fulfill their promise to turn her, and her loyalty begins to waver.

The film's centerpiece is the Unholy Masquerade, an annual ball where Wellington's vampire, werewolf, and zombie communities gather. The vampires prepare with varying degrees of enthusiasm: Viago hopes to meet someone, Vladislav sees it as a chance to reassert his status, and Deacon views it as an opportunity to undermine his flatmates. The event promises to bring the household's tensions to a head, with the added risk that Nick's carelessness could expose them all.

Throughout, the documentary format allows the characters to reflect on their immortality. Viago misses the simple pleasures of sunlight and food. Vladislav laments the loss of his powers. Deacon resents being treated like a child. Petyr remains an enigmatic presence, his age and power a reminder of what the others aspire to. The film balances these moments of melancholy with physical comedy and gore, as when a victim's blood sprays across the room or a vampire struggles with a modern appliance.[edit]