Film Diary 2014: What We Do In The Shadows

Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement who co-direct, write and perform in the film collarborated frequently on the Flight of the Conchords tv series, and later Waititi's feature debut Eagle Vs. Shark. Here Waititi also takes the prominent role of Viago, a cheery 379 year old vampire fop with a romantic soul, and the most organised of his dysfunctional vampire housemates, we meet him complaining over the rota and a stack of unwashed, blood-caked dishes.

Clement is Vlad, a self-styled classically sexual vampire, though his predlictions for torture and being "a bit of a pervert" give more of an insight into his awkward failings when it comes to the more lustful stereotype.

There's also Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), who is a crumpled oaf, sort of a faded rock star, the Anne Rice vampire of the group; and Petyr (Ben Fransham) a deliberately creepy and funny riff on Nosferatu.

Delivered in a mockumentary format a la Best In Show, Spinal Tap and The Office, the vampires deliberately play up their mystique to the cameras, which helps deflate their egos and expose their arrested development all the more. Occasionally we drift outside of their circle and meet characters such as Deacon's familiar Jackie (Jackie Van Beek), and the presence of a crew is playfully, wittily acknowledged throughout the film.

The plot, as much as there is, revolves around an impending masquerade ball for vampires, zombies and other local ghouls, as well as the accidental turning of modern man Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer) into a vampire, causing friction amongst the group, though they all get along brilliantly with his human friend Stu (Stuart Rutherford). There's also a number of sub-plots involves Rhys Darby (Murray from Flight of the Conchords) and his pack of werewolves and a mysterious rival of Vlad's known as the Beast.

With a free-wheeling, loose style that puts the jokes first and foremost the film is stuffed with laughs, from smart pop culture jibes, generic fish-out-of-water malarkey, beautifully observed character comedy, to moments of gore and terror that lurch from splutteringly disgusting to gut-bustingly hilarious, the film has an instant rewatchability that guarantees it a long cult afterlife.

The film has a certain ramshackle charm, as if this is a fun project a group of friends have been putting together at weekends, yet despite this there's still a great deal of warmth and heart wrapped up amongst some very dark - and surprisingly bloody - themes. More than that though it's unashamedly a darn good time that will be replayed and quoted from for years to come.

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