Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi teamed up once again for this one-of-a kind Vampire comedy. Beyond the simple glory of that partnership alone, here’s some more reasons to see it if you haven’t already.
Runtime: 1hr 27
- Legend of the Taika
From his full feature film debut Boy to the brilliant Hunt for the Wilderpeople to helming the up-coming Thor adventure in the marvel cinematic universe, nothing can stop this man and nobody wants to. Taikia Waititi is the most individual and refreshing directorial voice to emerge in recent years with an iconic flair for colourful characters (some of which he plays himself.) Every movie he has created has been a verifiable ray of sunshine. He makes you laugh. His films have heart. If What we do comes in as his darkest feature as he claims, it still proves a riot. He’s also a fantastic actor in one of three leading roles, which leads me to…
2. The performances
While the team behind the film took the decision to avoid studio pressures and find alternative finance, they gave themselves all the freedom to cast who they wanted. So they cast their mates. No, seriously. Case in point, see real life friend of the directors and stars Stuart ‘Stu’ Rutherford playing the vampires’ awkward human pal and recipient of their half-hungry affections, ‘Stu’. With Taika as the mothering ‘Viago’ and Jemaine also directing himself in the role of psychotic ‘Vladislav’, and their fellow kiwi talents Jonathan Brugh and Cori-gonzalez-Macuer as rivals ‘Deacon’ and ‘Nick’, they’re all set. This low-key casting is the secret to the film’s comedic success; it perfectly fits the casual, off-the cuff tone and improvised style, and the cast all has eternally amazing chemistry. For such fresh faces, they’re extremely capable as well. They’re funny (SO funny) all the way through, but at times – especially in Waititi’s sweetly earnest Viago – they can subtly break your heart. You will never know the specific kind of discomfort of finding yourself fond of, and worrying after, a blood-sucking monster till you see this film.
3. Bizghetti and dishes and ex-girlfriends, oh my
The film uses the mockumentary form and it is perfect. Like the office but Ricky Gervais and martin freeman are trying to kill each other. There can surely be no other way – or at least no other way as hilarious – to shake up the cluttered and overdone vampire subgenre than to plant a team of supposed fly on the wall cameras inside a modern flat shared by four barely functional vampires and see where the story takes you. The joke genuinely does not get old, only spirals. From mispronounced pasta to faulty mind-control to out-of-date fashion and mid-air brawls over chores, every single innovative spin this film takes on the idea of ancient myths struggling in a modern world is gut-bustlingly funny. This is the phenomena rarer than a nocturnal ghoul: a new comedy with actual thought, new things to say and clever brains behind it.
4. Meat on it’s bones and blood in it’s veins
But to say this film is just a barebones sequence of (really good) jokes with no substance is not true. It’s got some hearty innards. We genuinely root for and grow to love these silly spirits; when the film suddenly remembers it’s got one foot in the horror camp it does so with gusto and the resulting sense of threat and gore is genuinely nerve-inducing. It’s also honestly touching, there’s not a relationship here that isn’t dysfunctional at best and downright horrifying at worst, but the emotional payoffs at the end strike sharp and true.
5. One for the weird history-books
If it’s not already, this little film is a cult-classic just waiting to happen. It’s got all the ingredients including campy dark comedy (see: the Rocky Horror and it’s brimming with dialogue just made to be quoted for the rest of time.
You’re actually eating worms / Are you enjoying the Bizghetti / Stu is cool / Shame, shame shame, bad vampire! / And it was Petyr, and we’ve been friends ever since.
If you don’t know why those are funny yet go sink your teeth into the film and get back to me.
5 reasons to see ... 