What We Do in the Shadows Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

What We Do in the Shadows Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 10, 2015

The dryly humorous modern day Vampire-Mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows didn't do much business at the box office in a limited release, but it's sure to find a major following on home video. The critically acclaimed and fan-pleasing low-budget laugh riot is a refreshingly simple Comedy, capturing a cheap reality TV flavor but doing so with tongue planted deeply in cheek and featuring so many winks and nods that it's a wonder the cast can still look straight and live without a neck brace when its brisk 80-something minute runtime is up. Beautifully balancing subtle gags with occasional bursts of comic excess, the film keeps the audience on its toes but comfortable at the same time, anticipating the gag but expecting it to work, which it usually does. While the film doesn't explore many new areas -- it relies more on setting and style rather than novelty -- it treads old ground with a buoyancy that's rarely seen anymore in the Horror-Comedy genre, a quality previously reserved for the likes of Mel Brooks and, uh, well, Mel Brooks (and Leslie Nielsen, too), but here updated for a new generation of fans.

Hello world!

It's almost that time again, time for all of the New Zealand "night life" to attend the famous Unholy Masquerade. And a flat-full of vampires -- Viago (Taika Waititi), Vladislav (Jemaine Clement), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), and the up-there-in-millennia Petyr (Ben Fransham) -- are getting ready. The group isn't too happy with Deacon; he's not pulling his weight around the flat, leaving blood-soaked dishes piled up to practically the ceiling. Vlad thinks it's making them look bad to their guests, but if the guests don't make it out alive, who really cares? Anyway, the foursome is aided by a human named Jackie (Jackie Van Beek) who desperately wishes to be turned and performs various tasks that the vamps themselves cannot. A documentary crew, each wearing a crucifix and promised protection, follows the vampires as they prowl the streets in search of prey and approach the most unholy of annual festivals.

Part of what makes What We Do in the Shadows so charmingly agreeable is how well it incorporates little throwaway things with the big things. It's not just the same old tired things regurgitated for the umpteenth time, even if those sorts of things -- coffins, nighttime shenanigans, turning people, drinking blood -- play a major part in the movie. They're effortlessly blended with little things like a vampire working pottery or arguments about doing the dishes, all the while the classic genre motifs are presented in an uproariously funny manner that breathes new, exciting life into an otherwise tired collection of trite details. A feeding goes bad, resulting in blood spraying everywhere. A vampire accidentally invites a vampire hunter over to the flat. The idea of being "invited" into a private place extends beyond homes and to public places, like bars. Little gags are sometimes lifted directly -- and with full credit given -- from other films, like The Lost Boys. It's all completely absurd, but it works. The film essentially throws everything it can against the wall, and whether through sheer luck, sharp writing, a deep knowledge of the genre, a feel for precise comedic timing and delivery, or all of the above, almost all of it sticks.

Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, who are, on paper, essentially Jacks of all trade -- they act, they write, they direct -- prove masters of all. The film is sharp and focused, its script a goldmine of dry humor mixed in with a few overt gags, its direction simple in the style of reality television and cheap documentary filmmaking, and the performances are gloriously one dimensional, simple little efforts in which the actors accentuate the basics and play the parts with impeccable timing, fine attention to detail, and a precise understanding of who they portray and what it is the film asks of them. Even pulling triple duty, Clement and Waititi never give an inch in any area or show weakness or fatigue in any place of importance. They're surround by several other strong performers who understand the film's style and embrace it with every goofy scene. The picture's infrastructure is equally impressive. Makeup, costuming, props, and set design are all impeccably presented and with a healthy, natural, lived-in balance. In short: everything works, and the movie is a total laugh riot because of it.

What We Do in the Shadows Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

What We Do in the Shadows features a fine 1080p transfer, a little unorthodox at times, but one that serves the movie well. There's sometimes a harsh, direct lighting that gives the movie an almost "found footage" lower end feel, but it's otherwise a mostly filmic, attractive image that sports crisp, accurate details across a large assortment of surfaces: heavy makeup and skin (Petyr in particular looks fantastic), wood and stone, even well textured artwork seen in several close-ups reveals fine strokes and paint accumulation. Image clarity is generally strong despite the somewhat "guerrilla" documentary style the film features. Colors are pleasantly natural within various lighting elements. Bright red blood soaking surfaces looks great, as do some brighter colored attire and nighttime city lights and signs. Black levels are suitably deep and dark. Flesh tones look accurate to the characters' intended appearances. The image does suffer through some moderately heavy bouts of noise, but troublesome banding, macroblocking, and other issues are largely absent. For something of a nontraditional image, What We Do in the Shadows looks quite good on Blu-ray.

What We Do in the Shadows Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

What We Do in the Shadows' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is impressive across the board. Music plays with an aggressive posture but, at the same time, strong clarity and attention to detail, whether more traditional score, heavier tribal notes, or bass-happy club beats. Even the vamps' crude, play-by-ear music sounds technically great if not deliberately harsh on the ears; each of the instruments come through with impressive lifelike definition. Various sound effects -- creaks and moans, street-level ambience, and the like -- enjoy robust definition and placement. Dialogue is the primary component, however, and it plays with a fine natural center-focused placement and a couple of good instances of light but natural reverberation when the environment permits, notably near the beginning when the vamps are awakened. Overall, this is a good, enjoyable listen from Paramount.

What We Do in the Shadows Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

What We Do in the Shadows contains a large assortment of extra goodies, much of which is fluff. Key supplements, however, include a commentary track, deleted scenes, and the original short film on which this movie is based.

• Audio Commentary: Actors/Writers/Directors Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi offer a surprisingly dry, uninspired track that shuffles through the film, covering a fair bit of good information about the making of the movie, the Vampire genre, actors and characters, and more. Fans will find it of value, but it's a shame the delivery isn't on par with the movie it supports.
• Behind the Shadows (1080p, 17:36): A collection of raw on-set footage clips that show the making of several of the film's more involved scenes.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Let Us In (1:17), Phone Hypnosis (1:17), Viago & Deacon (2:42), My Mate Stu (6:02), Trade Me (1:21), Nick's Victims (4:12), Stu & Vlad (2:31), Stu & Witch (2:42), Nipple Eyes (1:33), Funeral (4:14), Stuneral (2:32), and Chaining Stu (1:06).
• Video Extras (1080p): A collection of (mostly) brief moments featuring the cast performing various tasks, such as painting or reading poetry or making an unorthodox appointment with the dentist. The key extra in this group, however, is the short film that inspired the movie. Included are Original Short Film (27:25), Erotic Deacon (3:25), Viago Sings (2:33), Vlad Paints (1:41), Vlad's Poetry (1:10), Jackie the Familiar (5:03), Night Dentist (3:59), What Stu Does (3:36), and Vampire & Werewolf Dance (1:11).
• Interviews (1080p): In-character interviews with Deacon (2:45), Viago (3:04), Vladislav (2:45), Police (2:23), Werewolves (3:35), and The Zombie (4:01).
• Promo Videos (1080p): Short bits that introduce the characters and the film's style. Included are Hobbies (1:07), Hypnosis (1:09), Feelings (1:24), Werewolves (0:59), Reflections (1:00), and Going Out (0:56).
• Poster Gallery (1080p): Fifty poster variations.

What We Do in the Shadows Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

What We Do in the Shadows' charm comes in its simplicity, its ability to take something so trite and outrageous and plop it into a modern, unsophisticated package, something so crude as a cheap reality television and documentary styling and see it all excel. There's nothing new about the movie in terms of what it says, but it's in how it does it, how it's all updated, turned around, and made just a little bit unique that makes it work so well. Mix in a great cast and terrific production design -- even on a shoestring budget relative to most other films -- and it's easy to see why everyone's in love with the movie and why it's even easier to predict that it'll find a long, happy home on home video. Paramount's Blu-ray release of What We Do in the Shadows delivers solid video and audio to go along with a very healthy assortment of extra content. Highly recommended.