96% on Rotten Tomatoes and it’s bloody brilliant.
It’s very likely that you’ll be hearing a lot about Taika Waititi in the coming days, but for those that have followed the career of the talented director, you’ll know just how good his films are. The New Zealander is the man that’s responsible for directing Thor: Ragnarok – currently the best-reviewed superhero film of all time – but those remarkable reviews aren’t exactly a surprise.
Since grabbing Hollywood’s attention with his Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night, Waititi has established himself as one of the most original, innovative and funny filmmakers around.
Not only did he help create Flight of the Conchords with his good friends Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, but he’s also made the beloved cult-classics Eagle vs Shark and Boy.
This being said, Waititi’s finest moment arrived when he directed the sublime Hunt for the Wilderpeople – in case you haven’t seen that superb film, it’s on Netflix and we can’t recommend it highly enough. In fact, we’ve previously stated that Hunt for the Wilderpeople was the best film of 2016.
Prior to unleashing Ricky Baker on the world, Waititi stuck his teeth into (pardon the pun) the vampire genre with What We Do in the Shadows and it’s nothing short of brilliant.
The fictional documentary chronicles the adventures of four vampire roommates that are trying to get by in a modern world that’s not always hospitable to the undead.
Imagine the documentary style of This is Spinal Tap and Borat, but mixed with the surreal and absurd comedy of Father Ted and Flight of the Conchords…but with vampires.
Clement and Waititi co-wrote, co-directed, and co-star in this hilarious send-up where an endearingly uncool quartet of friends reveal to us or, rather, to the documentary crew that’s filming them, the details of their nightly routine.
Ranging in age from 183 to 8,000, these mates squabble over household chores, struggle to keep up with the latest trends in technology and fashion, piss off the local werewolves (they’re not swear-wolves) visit clubs to pick up some ladies, and deal with the rigours of living on a very, very strict diet.
During a recent interview with JOE, Waititi gave a few details about the highly anticipated spin-off from What We Do in the Shadows, We’re Wolves.
Regarding the spiritual sequel, he said: “I think we’ve written three pages over the last two years! The first one (What We Do in the Shadows) took us about six years to do. This one, we’re hoping to get done a lot quicker. Actually, after this (Thor press junket) we’re hoping to get together and carve out some time to finish the script.”
Waititi has also previously announced that a TV show called Paranormal Event Response Unit was in the works, focusing on the inept cops that featured in the film.
If you haven’t seen What We Do in the Shadows, we urge you to do so when it airs tonight on BBC Two at 23:15.
These critics agree:
Examiner: “Superbly written with sharp humor, fantastic characters, and a well-polished story completely in tune with its source material, What We Do in the Shadows is an uproarious horror comedy that’s every bit as funny as Shaun of the Dead.”
LA Times: “Just when it looked like the vampire genre had been bled dry, along comes the insanely inspired horror-satire “What We Do in the Shadows” to give it fresh bite.”
Empire: “Here it is at long last: a truly great vampire comedy. And also the funniest horror film to come out of New Zealand since Braindead.”
