Returning to absurdist comedy: A review of What We Do In The Shadows
Mockumentaries have been around for decades, using similar documentarian techniques to either poke fun at more serious documentaries; over the past 40 years, mockumentaries have risen to become an immensely popular genre (spawning iconic hits like Borat or The Office). Reviewers have theorised that mockumentaries have become a fan favourite in the era of fake news and media complacency, in a world where some news pieces feel more absurd than any fictitious equivalent.
The first major example of a mockumentary was a radio play, back in 1938. Orson Welles read out a fake news broadcast inspired by Wells’ War of the Worlds, many believed the radio announcement to be true, though there was a disclaimer at the start of the show. During an era of heightened tension with Europe, the broadcast hadn’t even ended before CBS tried to shut it down, claiming reports of public hysteria. This radio announcement unintentionally helped kick-start the idea of fiction being presented as fact, paving the way for mockumentaries. The next few decades were unremarkable for the genre, though satirical journalism did see a rise, and the tradition of running April Fools segments on the screen became more popular. By the 60s, the film A Hard Days Night was released, starring the Beatles, and portraying 36 hours into the lives of the group (a reference to the ‘direct cinema’ documentary style — This documentary technique was led by Richard Leacock and DA Pennebaker in the US and can be defined as a more discreet method of documenting, where the camera acts as a passive observer- akin to a discreet fly on the wall), and the film continues to be one of the most influential music films produced. Few more titles had embraced this new style, like David Holzman’s Diary in 1967, and Woody Allen’s Take the Money and Run and Zeilig further popularised the genre. In the modern era, mockumentaries have become immensely popular, with Sascha Baron Cohen’s Borat taking centre stage. Television series, too, have embraced the mockumentary genre — notably, The Office from Britain, with the US-version coming out soon three years later, starring Steve Carrell.
Taika Waititi’s What We Do In The Shadows is another brilliant example of the mockumentary style, using standard techniques of documentaries — from passive observation to individual interviews of each character — to reveal the hilarious situations that vampires are in modern-day New Zealand.
The film is, in all aspects, an absurd comedy, and is a form of humour that is predicated on violating causal reasoning or human logic, and focuses on producing behaviours that are obviously illogical — the comedy stems from the fact that the audience cannot predict where the film will go, and the surprise gives rise to humour.
The Surrealist movement first arose in the early 1920s, and featured fantastic, dreamlike images that expressed an alternate reality (one that does have connections with our own reality, without being non-fictional); surrealists employed a number of techniques to create and express this ‘surreality’. The goal was to bridge the gap between ordinary, awake consciousness with the more unconscious processes that are associated with dreams, madness, and imagination.
Breton, in his Manifesto of Surrealism, writes about the contradictory nature between the conscious and the unconscious, and that the goal was to create a resolution between the two, to create an absolute reality (Breton, 1972). The argument made was that surreal art was meant to be random, jarring, and illogical, designed to appeal to one’s base unconscious, rather than make logical, scientific sense. The goal was to undermine the solemnity of the current artistic establishment (in the 1920s), resulting in humorous,amusing art — one infamous example is that of Duchamp’s Fountain, the inverted urinal, being both an iconic piece of art and a joke.
The film revolves around vampires, creatures of the night, struggling to adapt to a modern world, resulting in hilarious consequences. The premise of the film is hilarious; four vampires learn to live together, sharing a large house in the suburbs of New Zealand. Despite the house having a dark, haunted vibe, the vampires focus not on lurking evilly in the background, but on living together (which means doing chores and house maintenance). The film is charming and wholesome, filled with clever digs at vampires, and is well-executed; none of the jokes are overly complex or cringeworthy, and all the vampiric stereotypes are comically played out.
The opening scene is iconic; Viago(played by Waititi himself) introduces the documentary crew to his house and his roommates, Vladislav, young Deacon, and millennium-old Petyr. The first scene is a meeting between the roommates to discuss petty chores, including Deacon’s failure to do the dishes. The four vampires are quirky and, strangely, easily likeable; Vladislav is a frustrated womaniser who tries to keep to himself, Deacon is a relatively young vampire who refuses to clean up, and Petyr lives in the basement amongst human remains because he couldn’t be bothered to clean up. The film continues in a wandering vein; we see the vampires dress up for a night out, only to be stuck outside bars (playing on the trope that vampires must be invited in, with none of the bouncers bothering to extend the desired invite), or the struggle to lure victims to their homes, with Viago insisting on the others laying newspapers down to avoid making a mess on the floor. For the vampire gang, their troubles are twofold; apart from dealing with encounters with werewolves (who are also hilariously portrayed — The dog and pedigree jokes alone make the movie worth watching), they must also deal with looking snazzy for a night out without using a mirror.
Waititi’s performance as Viago is both hilarious and endearing; he attempts to make his victims comfortable by providing some dinner and some nice wine, while still making sure there are plenty of towels on hand to keep the room clean. The dynamic changes when the group meets Nick, a working-class guy who was meant to be prey, yet gets turned into a vampire. Nick’s introduction into the group changes the group’s dynamics — Deacon is jealous of the new arrival and takes it out on his human familiar (a woman who’s desperate to become a vampire — desperate enough to do his laundry, clean his floors, and provide regular meals; her method of searching for victims is, arguably, one we’ve all fantasized about — sacrificing our third grade nemesis or that rude woman from the shop to a vampire. Isn’t that the dream?), Viago and Vladislav are enjoying the new wonders the modern world has to offer (courtesy of Nick’s human friend, Stu), and Petyr, well, doesn’t stray too far from the basement.
The film, on the whole, is a lovely watch, whether you’re at home with family, or looking for a chill film to watch with your friends. The comedy is light yet hits on all the right points, and the film ends on a sweet, heartwarming note — everyone survives (except Petyr, who dies an unfortunate death at the hands of a vampire hunter), bridges are patched up, and the gang is able to get everyone back together. Despite a few scenes being slightly cringey, the chemistry between the characters is what binds the movie together, and the silly element in the movie is never overstated, with comedic elements being perfectly timed to get the punchline exactly right. No matter who the audience may be, What we Do in the Shadows, is a lovely watch.
References:
Moore C. “Surrealism, Religion, and Psychology” Leeming D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Boston, MA. 2014
Gilbey, Ryan. “The resistible rise of the mockumentary.” The Guardian. September 23, 2008. https://www.theguardian.com/global/filmblog/2008/sep/23/comedy
Zeke. “The history of the mockumentary artform”. New York Film Academy Student Resources. August 25, 2015. https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/the-history-of-the-mockumentary-artform/
Voorhies, James. “Surrealism”. The Met Museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. October 2004. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/surr/hd_surr.htm
Catsoulis, Jeannette. “Review: What We Do In The Shadows’, a Vampire Comedy”. The New York Times. The NY Times. Feb 12, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/13/movies/review-what-we-do-in-the-shadows-a-vampire-comedy.html
Abrams, Simon. “What We Do in the Shadows”. Roger Ebert. February 13, 2015. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-2015
