hello this is Jake Winters for eye on the triangle this is snowverated and this week I will be taking a look at the film what we do in the shadows.

What we do in the shadows is a mockumentary format movie set in new Zealand. If you thought of Jemaine Clement and flight of the conchords you were spot on. The other man that worked on the film was well known director Taika Waititi who is also a new Zealand native and also plays a major role in the film. This movie is absolutely enjoyable. I loved how they applied the mockumentary format to a scenario in which I thought it would never work and it worked so well. If you like the office, especially the british version, Then you will definitely like this film/ It has the typical dr humor expected from both british and new Zealand comedies. British and new Zealand film have their differences obviously but they are very similar. And not only did this film do mockumentary well they bent what any people think of as a vampire film. They humanized the undead and did it well. Usually vampires seem all powerful and like they have amost no flaws. Of course all vampire movies have their conflicts but a lot of the conflicts come from mortals.

They did a great job of making sure that the audience knew it was a mockumentary as most of the films of that genre do. Because the genre is so common in the past decade or two there have been established filming styles that show the audience that it is a mockumentary. The awkward interactions with camera crews you can’t hear the voices of and as well as the cameras just falling at points. This is a great way to add realism to the mockumentary because any normal film would just do a retake so in a film that mocks a documentary needs to have shots that aren’t exactly perfect because a documentary almost always has shots that aren’t perfect. Of course this style started with films like spinal tap and it has evolved a lot since the release of that film. If you haven’t seen this film and you like this one you should definitely check it out.

Another interesting thing about this movie is that it feels oddly long yet it is short. Because many of the recent mockumentaries have been TV shows and this is filmed so similarly to them it feels like it should cut off and move to another episode at twenty or so minutes. This is sort of a weird feeling to have in the middle of a movie but it is excusable and if you haven’t watched a lot of the popular mockumentaries like the office and parks and rec it probably wouldn’t even feel odd to you at all.

I really enjoyed What we do in the shadows. I thought it was both a fresh take on mockumentaries, extending them to the ridiculous, and silly take on vampire movies. It was funny throughout with no joke ever missing completely and I amsure I missed some subtleties on the first watching that would make the movie even better. Jemaine clement has a history with the mockumentary form of film making and it shows in how well the film fit the style. When trying to do something that has been done before it is important to nail the aspects that make it the kind of film but also important not tto copy too much of what your predecessotrs have done. This film felt familiar but different which means that they managed to do this perfectly.

I am going to give this film a 4/5. There were some things I thought could have been changed in the plot to make more sense but really that is not the point of a film like this. For the most part in comedies you have to let go of the plot and consistency and look at the jokes themselves.

If you like the movie be sure to be on the lookout in the not so distant future for the sequel which has announced and has the title we’re wolves. Which is the we are version on were. Taika Waititi is currently working on the next thor movie but will most likely move on to this as his next project after the film is finished.

What we do in the shadows is available from multiple retailers and renters online. If you want to let me know that you liked my review or have any comments or suggestions for films youd like to hear my take on let us know at publicaffairs@wknc.org. Or if you want to call in feel free to at [insert station number here] during the show and we can chat. Thanks for listening to this weeks edition of ye on the triangle and snowverated. I am jake winters and I hope yo enjoy the rest of your evening.