Member review

Taika Waititi’s comedic mock-umentary documents a group of New Zealand vampires navigating life (and death) in Wellington. A faux documentary crew follows the group of undead flatmates as they search for people to feed on and enjoy the city nightlife. When Deacon’s human servant brings her ex-boyfriend to the flat, he is mistakenly transformed himself, and – much to their distaste – the vampires must adjust to their existence with their new member.

The dry, deadpan New Zealand comedy is effective and entertaining, echoing co-writer Jemaine Clement’s ‘Flight of The Concordes’, and the style is supported by superb performances from the cast, Waititi particularly showing his caliber as an actor-writer-director. The principle comedic success comes from the juxtaposition between the surreal and horrific activities of the vampires, and the dreary modern setting of Wellington, along with the inversion of typical tropes of the gothic horror genre. The film executes its genre well – the handheld shots, fourth wall breaks, faux-interview style all immerse the audience into the lives of the characters, while the humorous dialogue and exaggerated horror work to amuse and entertain. The plot unfolds with shock, hilarity and a subverted view of these infamous fantasy characters. While the subtly sarcastic humour of the writing and exaggerated slap-stick gore may not be for everyone, the film certainly gives a highly original take on an unoriginal subject matter, and for that it should be credited.