Movie · 2014 · Comedy, Horror · 1h 26m · R · English
Curator score: 8.7/10 (804.3K ratings)
Some interviews with some vampires.
Overview
Vampire housemates try to cope with the complexities of modern life and show a newly turned hipster some of the perks of being undead.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.7/10
IMDb: 7.6/10
Letterboxd: 4.12/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Metacritic: 76
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi
Production
Unison Films, Defender Films, Funny or Die, New Zealand Film Commission, Resnick Interactive Development
Cast
Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonny Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford, Ben Fransham, Jackie van Beek, Elena Stejko, Jason Hoyte, Karen O'Leary, Mike Minogue, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Ian Harcourt, Ethel Robinson, Brad Harding, Isaac Heron, Yvette Parsons, Madeleine Sami, Aaron Jackson, Morgana Hills
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, deadpan mockumentary that turns vampire mythology into a sitcom about chores, ego, and roommate politics. It’s consistently funny, quotable, and inventive without losing its affectionate genre bite.
Best for
fans of dry, character-driven comedy
viewers who like horror with low gore and high wit
people who enjoy mockumentary style and improv energy
audiences looking for a cult movie with strong rewatch value
Skip if
you want serious horror or real scares
you dislike mockumentary framing and improvisational dialogue
you prefer fast plotting over hangout-style comedy
you need broad, high-energy slapstick throughout
Overview
What We Do in the Shadows is one of the great modern genre comedies because it treats the absurdity of vampire lore with total sincerity. The joke is not just that vampires are ridiculous; it’s that immortality would still leave them trapped in the same petty social problems as everyone else. That simple idea gives the film a steady stream of character-based comedy and a surprisingly durable emotional rhythm.
Worth noting
The mockumentary format is a perfect fit, letting the film play as both a parody of supernatural grandeur and a very specific roommate comedy. Its humor is dry, awkward, and often brutally specific, with a strong sense of escalation as the house dynamic becomes more chaotic. The production design and creature effects are modest but clever, and the film gets a lot of mileage out of contrast: ancient monsters navigating modern life, etiquette, and nightlife.
Bottom line
It’s also a movie with real affection for its oddball cast of characters, which is why it has lasted so well as a cult favorite. Even when the jokes are broad, the performances keep them grounded in recognizable human behavior. The result is a comedy that feels both handmade and fully formed, a rare horror parody that works as a character piece first and a genre riff second.
Top Letterboxd reviews
k. abeto (5★) · 17007 likes
cracking open a boy with the cold ones
vi (5★) · 10100 likes
THE POINT, DEACON, IS THAT YOU HAVE NOT DONE THE DISHES FOR FIVE YEARS
YI JIAN (4★) · 8092 likes
Imdb trivia:
The man who plays Stu is not an actor but actually Stu Rutherford, a part-time business analyst for a Wellington company, LanWorx. He was hired for the film under the impression that he would be working on computers, and that he would play a small part in the film.
Stu is the purest human being alive, perhaps even of all time. This is a movie about Stu, made for Stu. I'm so glad the vampires realize this, protect… more
cinéfila... 🕯️ (4★) · 7938 likes
i was doing an erotic dance for my friends, and you ruined it. i was in the zone. my friends were loving it.