'What We Do in the Shadows' - Documentary/Mockumentary

The film 'What We Do in the Shadows', directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, is a Mockumentary created in New Zealand. The film follows a group of vampires as they go about their lives. It's filmed in a way that parodies the conventions of documentary making however with entirely fictional subjects it is a mockumentary.

The film is shot as a series of short sketches that are stitched together to create the whole film. The scenes fit together to tell a comedic account of a group of vampires that live in a flat together and the struggles they face in their daily lives. Examples of this include things such as not being allowed to enter buildings without being invited first as well as more trivial things such as their clothes being several years out of fashion.

The film is shot as if there is a film crew there that the characters frequently refer to, talk to and interact with as well as with scenes that are almost interview style moments with each of the vampires. The film crew have no lines but are always present and occasionally shown on camera, such as in the scene where the vampires run into werewolves on a full moon and some of the crew gets eaten. The film is shot as if through hand held camera's and the combination of that and the use of purely diegetic sounds create a sense of realism which is juxtaposed by the ridiculousness of the vampires themselves.

Illustration List:

Fig, 1. Movie Poster. Found at: https://monsterzeronj.wordpress.com/2015/07/23/bare-bones-pitch-perfect-2-what-we-do-in-the-shadows-and-sharknado-3/