Jemaine Clement What We Do In The Shadows

Jemaine Clement What We Do In The Shadows

Cast: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford, Jackie Van Beek, Ben Fransham, Rhys Darby
Directors: Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement
Rated: M
Running Time: 86 minutes

Synopsis: Flatmates Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are three vampires who are just trying to get by in modern society; from paying rent and doing housework to trying to get invited in to nightclubs, they're just like anyone else - except they're immortal and must feast on human blood.

When their 8000 year-old room-mate Petyr, turns 20-something human hipster Nick, into a vampire, the guys must show him the ropes and guide him through his newfound eternal life. And in return they are forced to learn a thing or two about modern society, fashions, technology, and the internet. But it's the introduction of Nick's human friend, Stu, that really changes the vampire's lives and attitudes towards the ever-changing world around them.

When Stu's life is threatened, the vamps show us that maybe humans are worth fighting for, and that even though your heart may be cold and dead, it doesn't mean you have no feelings.

What We Do In The Shadows
Release Date: September 4th, 2014
Website: Trailer

About The Production

This feature is based loosely on a short film that Waititi and Clement made in 2005. Although it has been 8 yrs since they came up with the idea, this certainly proves that good things take time, but vampire mockumentaries take about 8 years.

Waititi and Clement co-wrote, co-directed and co-star in the 85-minute film, alongside a host of their NZ comedy peers, including Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Jonny Brugh, Jackie Van Beek and Rhys Darby. The film was shot between Wellington locations and a sound stage in Miramar, utilizing a lot of local crew and talent. The interior of the house was entirely created from recycled materials by Ra Vincent, and the costume and make-up design was created by Amanda Neale and Dannelle Satherly, both of whom Waititi has worked with on his previous features.

The shooting took place over 5 weeks starting in September 2012 and completed with one week of pick up's in August 2013. It was entirely improvised around a script that Taika and Jemaine had written, but didn't show to the cast. Because of the random and often prolonged nature of the improvised takes, the guys came away with about 125 hours of footage from which they needed to create 90 minutes of story. Therefore the editing process took almost a year, with the post and VFX being addressed slowly throughout.

The sound mix and final grade were all completed at Peter Jackson's prestigious Park Road Post facility in Wellington.

Music

The soundtrack is an eclectic mix of New Zealand, Balkan, Russian, Gypsy, Indian, Punk, and Folk from around the globe; a melting pot of different ethnic vibes and popular contemporary pieces held together with very deliberate scoring by Wellington film composing legends, Plan 9.

What We Do In The Shadows
Release Date: September 4th, 2014