What We Do in the Shadows

"Some interviews with some vampires."

2014 1h 26m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 4,106

ComedyHorror

Synopsis

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Vampire housemates try to cope with the complexities of modern life and show a newly turned hipster some of the perks of being undead.

“Some interviews with some vampires.”

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Cast

Jemaine Clement
Vladislav
Taika Waititi
Viago
Jonny Brugh
Deacon
Cori Gonzalez-Macuer
Nick
Stu Rutherford
Stu
Ben Fransham
Petyr
Jackie van Beek
Jackie
Elena Stejko
Pauline (The Beast)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jemaine Clement
Writers: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi
Languages: German, English
Countries: New Zealand, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

86 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.9× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: New Zealand, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jemaine Clement, shot by Richard Bluck. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tom Eagles shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jemaine Clement directs. Richard Bluck behind the camera. Tom Eagles cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in New Zealand, United States of America. Dialogue in German, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

186 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $1.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Made its money back 3.9× over at the box office.
4Released 12 years ago.
5Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, English.
6International production across 2 countries: New Zealand, United States of America.
7Directed by Jemaine Clement, shot by Richard Bluck. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Editor Tom Eagles shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi and Jonny Brugh carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Some interviews with some vampires.".
11IMDB entry: tt3416742 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 18 themes, including "friendship", "vampire", "commune", "new zealand".

The technical file

Cinematography: Richard Bluck
Editing: Tom Eagles
Production design: Ra Vincent
Runtime: 86 min · 1h 26m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,600,000
Box office: $6,300,000
Return: 394% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

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Jemaine Clement

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-07-14
★ 6/10
The video document of the life of the vampires. A documentary style horror comedy based on the short film of the same name by the same directors. I would say it is an interview with the vampires in the Kiwi style. The film follows a group of vampires living in an old mansion and their everyday routine, including how they manage to get blood and confrontation with other mutants are documented. Definitely a wonderful comedy, but feels like a mix of 'Dark Shadows' and 'Addams Family'. The title implies the nightlife of these creatures, especially adapting the modern way of lifestyle. So their exploration begins here for their video document. Being different is how much struggle is what the film focused. Threats from various quarters and getting over from every disastrous event is revealed. Quite an interesting vampire film with the awesome characters and of course the entire film was shot in the dark time. It is not a cliché, but just a spoof of the typical vampire theme. Cleverly written screenplay and direction with the well supported performances. Looks like many people had loved it, I'm slightly on the different side that I enjoyed watching it but did not like much. Because I have seen better film in the similar concept. So I still recommend it because it is worth a watch. 6/10
mattwilde1232017-03-09
★ 8/10
'What We Do In The Shadows' is an hilarious mockumentary film by the makers of 'Flight of the Conchords'. The movie is filed with brilliant homages and references to vampire films such as 'The Lost Boys', 'Twilight' and 'Let The Right One In'. The directorial style is very similar to the hit TV show 'The Office' as it is able to create humour in the realism and personal interviews and monologues. This method also allows it to be genuinely scary at times such as when we meet the housemate inspired by 'Nosferatu'. The extreme and realistic gore also comes across as very brutal and juxtaposes the silly gags. The actors are all very good. Dead pan. Great delivery. ★★★★
crastana2022-07-18
★ 10/10
Not the vampires we wanted but the vampires we needed. Say whatever about Taika Waititi, but he is a capable screen writer, director and comedian. It is story about a bunch of vampires in a reality show and their interaction with the modern world, that made Waititi a famous director.