“I think we drink virgin blood because it sounds cool.”
“I think of it like this. If you were going to eat a sandwich, you would just enjoy it more if you knew no one had fucked it.”
I absolutely love this movie.
Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement have a comedic voice that is unendingly amusing to me.
What We Do In the Shadows is hilarious, smart, clever, impressively filmed, and never overstretches it’s premise. That last bit is miraculous, given how quickly this could have gotten old, especially with the mockumentary format. The film takes a lighthearted approach to the necessarily murderous behavior of vampires, and they nail the tone perfectly. It works.
All of Waititi’s writing has this rare combination, where it’s so sharp and funny, but also genuinely sweet and warm. He revels in the flaws and awkwardness of his characters, and it’s where I find so much joy in his work.
Word has it that there is going to be a sequel to What We Do In the Shadows called We’re Wolves, obviously focused on the pack of werewolves from this film. There is also a show in development, Paranormal Event Response Unit, which will follow the two police officers from What We Do… going around encountering more of Wellington’s thriving supernatural element.
I’m also super excited for Waititi’s current directorial gig at Marvel, Thor: Ragnarok. Although, however successful that is, I hope he keeps making original stuff, too, like What We Do…, the criminally underseen and underappreciated Boy, and most recently Hunt for the Wilderpeople. He’s also a co-writer on the upcoming Disney animated feature, Moana, which features Clement in a voice role.
Will I Ever Watch It Again? Yes.Yes. Yes. All the yes. This was my third time and will absolutely not be the last. Taika Waititi forever!
