What we do in the shadows original movie

A look into the daily lives of four vampires who've been together for hundreds of years; after a visit from their dark lord and leader, they're reminded of their purpose in coming to New York City over a century ago.

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What We Do in the Shadows

Based on the feature film of the same name from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, “What We Do in the Shadows” is a documentary-style look into the daily (or rather, nightly) lives of four vampires who’ve “lived” together for hundreds of years in Staten Island. After an unexpected visit from their dark lord and leader, the vampires are reminded of what they were initially tasked with upon their arrival in New York over a century ago – total and complete domination of the New World. But what exactly is the best way to go about achieving said domination? The vérité camera crew follows along as the vampires set out to answer this query.

In January 2014, a new kind of mockumentary-style movie hit the screen at the Sundance Film Festival. The 85-minute comedy examines the lives of four ancient vampire flatmates and is smartly entitled What We Do in the Shadows. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, creator Jemaine Clement explains that the characters came to be when he and co-creator, Taika Waititi, did vampire stand-up. From there, the idea grew into a 30-minute, low-budget short film in which three nonchalant vampires are interviewed about their lives and then, eventually, it progressed into a full-length film. In another interview with The Guardian, Clement discloses that he and Waititi wanted these vampires to be “foreigners, not only from a different country but from a different time.”

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The movie documents the behavior of Viago, a 17th-century dandy, Vladislav, an 862-year-old vampire with a nemesis named ‘the beast,’ and Deacon, a 183-year-old peddler originally transformed by the final housemate, 8,000-year-old Petyr. We see these flatmates argue over unwashed dishes, accept a newly-formed vampire into the house, Nick, and interact with two human beings, Jackie and Stu. While the film is comedic gold, it leaves many avenues unexplored, such as the subject of familiars, vampire hunters, and the larger vampire community.

The chance to bite into these ideas came when US TV executives approached Clement and Waititi about an FX reboot in 2019, also called What We Do in the Shadows. The new sitcom includes all the essential ingredients that the first mockumentaries had: ancient, foreign vampires living a domestic lifestyle in present-day Staten Island, doting familiars, and awkward interactions with the general public.

This time, the camera crew focuses on Nandor the Relentless, a 750-year-old Iranian vampire and a former soldier of the Ottoman Empire, Lazlo is a 300- year-old English vampire married to Nadja, Nadja is 500-years-old and of Greek descent, and finally, Colin Robinson is an energy vampire and “came with the house” that the others reside in. The last main character is Nandor’s familiar, Guillermo de la Cruz, who, like Jackie, patiently waits to be turned into a vampire.

The big question is — out of the two adaptations which is the best? According to Peter Foy of CBR, the show adaptation “outdoes its source material proving it was better suited for the television medium, to begin with.” This rings true when you look at the flexibility and exploration of the show in comparison to the movie. Here are three reasons why the series What We Do In the Shadows is better than its original.

Character Building

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Although the movie really devotes time to its main characters, Clement and Waititi were limited in what they could explore in 85 minutes. It’s easy to see that the creators had several ideas that they wanted to touch on but didn’t have the space. In the show, writers have more time to flesh out the new characters and the world in general. In the first season, Guillermo de la Cruz, the familiar’s life, is explored more extensively.

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According to an interview by Esquire, ‘de la Cruz’ was chosen by Guillermo’s actor, Harvey Guillen, and means ‘of the cross.’ The audience learns that soft-spoken Guillermo wants to become a vampire because he saw Antonio Banderas play one in Interview With a Vampire. Guillermo wakes his master and puts him to bed, he cleans the house, assures that no daylight comes in, and lures virgin victims. In a shocking twist, however, Guillermo discovers he is a descendant of a vampire hunter and realizes he has a knack for killing the undead.

Not only is the audience exposed to Guillermo's responsibilities, but also his personal life. One of the most personal moments comes in the Season Two finale when Guillermo briefly returns to his mother's house, and we get a glimpse of his Mexican heritage.

World Building

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Additionally, the show has more flexibility in exploring other creatures and the rest of the vampire population. The audience meets the leader of the Manhattan vampires, Simon the Devious, played by Nick Kroll, and also the vampiric council which features cameos by the original creators. We get more of a taste of the vampire and werewolf relationship and learn that the Staten Island vampires and werewolves “live in a wary peace because of [their] Truce.”

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In the original film, the battle with the werewolves occurs without much explanation whereas the show reveals that the two have a history and a formal agreement that is broken. Lastly, the series explores the idea of "energy vampires," creatures that drain human energy instead of blood.

Female Characters

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In the 2014 film, the only female vampire we meet is Pauline, who is known better as “the beast.” She is Vladislav’s nemesis and ex-girlfriend, and at the Unholy Masquerade tries to eat the gang's human friend, Stu. She is not a very likable character and only appears briefly. The series, in comparison, stars Nadja, a female vampire with her own experiences outside Lazlo. Nadja takes on many lovers and also seems to have a better sense of the modern-day than her housemates. She is always the first to sense supernatural happenings (such as Lazlo’s witch skin hat) and can use modern technology. Nadja’s actress, comedian Natasha Demetriou, revealed in an Uproxx interview that she loves that Nadja is just as “goofy” as the men.

Another female vampire that quickly materialized in Season One is Jenna. Jenna was a college student and LARPer that Guillermo originally recruited as a virgin for the vampires to feast on. The feast is unsuccessful, but Nadja later takes pity on Jenna and changes her into a vampire. According to Demetriou in a Showbiz Junkies interview, Nadja changed Jenna because “she sees an opportunity to be a mom, be a best friend, and be a sister.”

Despite the advantages of the TV series, both adaptations of What We Do in the Shadows are worth checking out and added some fresh material to the mockumentary genre.

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