#d.j. stipsen

[stillsmybeatingheart]

[filmarchve]

What We Do in the Shadows (2014), dir. Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi

Cinematography by Richard Bluck and D.J. Stipsen

[filmista]

What We Do In The Shadows

I consider this one of the best vampire films I’ve ever seen, I’ve watched this little gem from New Zealand about three times and every time I’m filled with new enthusiasm and amazement for it.

It does something that very little films of the genre do and that gives me respect for it, it doesn’t try to take itself too seriously and it doesn’t desperately try to reach levels of insane dramatic epicness.

It’s only mission is genuinely trying to make people laugh and it certainly succeeds at that.

Also I really like it for stepping away from all the modern, romantic conceptions that we’ve developed around vampires, it embraces the good old clichés of vampires having no reflection, turning into bats and having a predilection for virgin blood (“wouldn’t you enjoy a sandwich more if you knew no one had fucked it?”).

But It’s still set in modern times, It’s not a vampire period drama. The vampires live in an apartment in Wellington New Zealand, and just like people they each have their own personality, and just as when normal people live together, there’s little tensions and annoyances between them, and they have to deal with enemies such as werewolves, which leads to some very funny scenes.

They fight over who has to clean or do the dishes, It’s brilliant and hilarious to approach vampires in such a way, they’re suddenly, more humane, funnier versions of the undead.

The film focuses on a group of five vampires, who as I said live in an apartment each with their own distinct personality. There’s Vladislav who is based on Vlad the Impaler, but who now don't torture anymore he did this when he was in a “bad place” and can’t hypnotize or transform into animals that well anymore.

There’s Petyr who lives in the basement and very rarely comes out anymore because he’s old, he looks like the vampire from the Nosferatu film. There’s Viago who was an 18th-century dandy, so he’s very well mannered.

When he kills someone, he makes a nice date out if it in his own awkward way, he’ll lay a newspaper under the victim to not stain the furniture. He’s also been in love with the same human woman for years, and still, has a picture of her in his coffin, let’s just say that you really don’t wanna know what he does in there at night, apparently, the blood still flows there… His human love, later in the film has a hilarious part.

Then there’s Deacon who was a Nazi vampire apparently, and supposedly was going to help Hitler take over the world with his undead army. Lastly, we have  Nick who joined the group very recently, so he behaves like a child that just found out he can fly.

I’ll quickly leave you guys with the storyline, though:

Follows the lives of Viago (Taika Waititi), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), and Vladislav (Jemaine Clement) - three flatmates who are just trying to get by and overcome life’s obstacles-like being immortal vampires who must feast on human blood.

Hundreds of years old. The vampires are finding that beyond sunlight catastrophes, hitting the main artery, and not being able to get a sense of their wardrobe without a reflection-modern society has them struggling with the mundane like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts.

The film is a mockumentary It’s filmed in the style of a documentary, we follow them as they go about their daily business to observe firsthand how miserably they fail at trying to fit in modern society, they don’t wear appropriate clothes and much more, I could give more examples but I don’t want to give away too much, but one thing is clear It’s a guaranteed fun watch.

I really enjoyed the acting in the film, each actor really brought their character to life and makes it memorable, and they have a chemistry that feels very natural and that makes watching them interact with each other wonderfully.

Some people will no doubt say that the acting is dramatic and completely over the top and that they just fully venture into the overacting territory. And these people are right they absolutely do…

But they do it knowingly and I found it utterly delightful, It’s possible sometimes that overacting brings benefit to a film, this is such a case, and in this sort of film, you can expect it.

You don’t want the actors to look to serious, you want to see how positively silly everything is reflected in their acting, and with What We Do In The Shadows you see that, you can almost imagine them doubled over from laughter in between filming a scene.

Where normally I’d discuss individual performances and even choose a favorite, here I won’t do that, as I really thoroughly enjoyed every single performance and thought that all of the performances formed one cohesive, inseparable whole.

I fully enjoyed the whole film, It’s direction and It’s acting. But I think that I keep revisiting it especially for its cinematography, It’s so well thought out, so playful and just overall very lovely and fun to look at.

It’s beautiful as well as very humorous at times. The film is clearly filmed in the style of a documentary, the camera closely follows the main characters everywhere they go, it feels like you’re tagging along.

But where this one differs are the special effects, that are interwoven in the film, they’re quirky and give the film It’s own atmosphere and it makes it easier to go along with it, and also allows to get to know the characters better, as you discover more about them through flashbacks.

The way the story was told sometimes reminded of a fairytale, a gothic and funny one in this case, and this rarely happens with a documentary, It’s special effects make it much more stylish and elegant yet they’re never over the top, so the film still retains a simplicity, which is It’s saving grace, because along with It’s somewhat dramatic acting, it might have become chaotic otherwise.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the costume design and the set decoration, the costumes in the film really fit each character and are believably antique looking, the same goes for the decoration. It really strengthens the illusion that these people come from different eras and that they’re stuck in the past and their own nostalgia and doesn't know how to behave nowadays.

I find the soundtrack simply fantastic, I fall in love with it each time. It brilliantly fits the storyline and theme of the film, as well as adding to the mood and tone of certain scenes.

Half of the humor of some scene lies in the music that plays in them, it really creates a unique atmosphere in the film.

Some people might think that the film is not their thing, that It’s too silly for their liking  as it doesn’t really motivate deep thinking, while the film obviously doesn’t really promote philosophical thinking, that’s not It’s intention, It’s an ideal film for when you really just want to sit back, have a good laugh and most of all have fun while you’re watching.

I fully recommend it to everyone that has lost faith in the vampire genre or if you want to go back to the good old days when vampires weren’t vegetarians or didn’t creepily watch sleeping, teenage girls.

“One day I was selling my wears, and I walked passed this old creepy castle. And I look at it and think, "'very old and creepy". And then this creature... flies at me! It dragged me back to this dark dungeon. And bit into my neck. And just at the point of death; this creature forced me to suck its foul blood. And then it opened its wings, like this. And hovered above me. Screeching. 'Now you are vampire.' And it was Petyr. And we're still friends today.”

[still-frames]

“What We do in the Shadows“ (2014),

Dir: Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, DoP: Richard Bluck and D.J. Stipsen. Mockumentary

[picopond]

gif by @charitydingle

🎃 thirty-one spooky films during spooktober 🎃 day 26: what we do in the shadows (2014)

dir. jemaine clement & taika waititi  / dop. d.j. stipsen & richard bluck

anything taika waititi does is an absolute delight, and this is no different. a mockumentary about vampires that reside in wellington, new zealand, this was so fun to watch. the four vampires - viago, vladislav, deacon, and petyr - are all different and fantastic characters, and you’re bound to love each of them.  i love the supernatural and this was a great modern take on it. it’s not deep, so it’s super easy to follow. that’s really all i have to say about it!

⭐: 4/5

[deepredradio]

What We Do In The Shadows - Staffel 1

What We Do In The Shadows – Staffel 1

Story: Der Serie handelt von vier ungleichen Vampiren, die in einer seltsamen Wohngemeinschaft in New York leben. Ähnlich wie im Filmklassiker „Mann beißt Hund“ führen sie eine Dokumentarcrew durch ihr Leben und legen so ihre größten Geheimnisse und Sorgen als jahrhundertealte Blutsauger offen.

Bei der FX-Comedy What We Do in the Shadows handelt es sich um eine amerikanische Serienadaption der…

[cinematographymagic]

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

Director: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi

DOP: Richard Bluck, D.J. Stipsen

[sculpturesintime]

What We Do in the Shadows

2014   

Director: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi   

Cinematographer: Richard Bluck, D.J. Stipsen  

[stillsmybeatingheart]

[stillsmybeatingheart]

[stillsmybeatingheart]

[stillsmybeatingheart]

[stillsmybeatingheart]

[filmarchve]

What We Do in the Shadows (2014), dir. Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi

Cinematography by Richard Bluck and D.J. Stipsen

[filmarchve]

What We Do in the Shadows (2014), dir. Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi

Cinematography by Richard Bluck and D.J. Stipsen