I decided to research What We Do in the Shadows as it’s a mockumentary which I enjoyed watching. It’s also very interestingly made as well which was really interesting to watch. The directors, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, also star as two main characters within the film. By doing this, I personally think It allows the directors vision to really come to life. The cast is also made out of people they know which gets rid of boundaries they may not have been able to cross before. Working with your friends allows comedy to flow easily and improv to be natural, this is why I wanted to include this element within my mockumentary.
What We Do in the Shadows is a very unique type of mockumentary and would most likely fall under the poetic category in terms of documentary styles, this is only my opinion though. This would be because the film tells a story, this differs from an expository documentary which are made to inform people. It also wouldn’t be classed as an observational documentary as it’s not aiming to get every side of the story and include the audience somehow. Certain elements within the film, such as the connection between the main characters and the “camera crew” adds texture and really makes it seem like a documentary rather than a film.
Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are vampires who are finding modern life has them struggling with the normalities – like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get entry into nightclubs, and facing flatmate conflicts.
The way Jemaine and Taika added slight gore to enhance the comedy, really does make you want to laugh. Even though the film is based on vampires, adding elements that would seem like a typical person issue makes it relatable, therefore more funny. In one scene, Taika’s character Viago, brings a woman home and then attempts to bite her neck. A scene like this which I meant to be gory, is then contradicted with humour when the blood squirts from the woman neck and covers Viago in blood. This makes the audience laugh due to it being seen as a typical vampire struggle that no one would expect would happen.
A way they also use comedy is within simple household elements. For example, the household has a chore wheel which everyone needs to abide by. This scene is made humours through the characters sat around the table complaining at one another for not doing their part. This conversation opens the scene up to become funny by allowing the actors to improv about the situation and mention a “normal persons” struggles when using the chore wheel in a shared household.
It’s simple things like this throughout the film which make it hilarious to the audience. The film is filled with little scenes like this and I think thats the key to making a mockumentary funny. If you go from one funny scene to the other with no comedy flowing throughout the entire film, it loses the comedic element.
El's Final Major Project Blog 