Horror And Hilarity: What We Do In The Shadows
What We Do in the Shadows is an American mockumentary comedy horror television series created by Jemaine Clement that premiered March 27, 2019, on FX.
Set in New York's Staten Island, What We Do in the Shadows follows the lives of three traditional vampires, Nandor, Laszlo, and Nadja; Colin Robinson, an energy vampire; and Guillermo, Nandor's familiar. The hilarity of the series revolves around how the centuries-old vampires interact with the modern world and other supernatural beings.
The show is slightly reminiscent of Seinfeld in which every character on the show is as equally as funny as the others. It's hard to pick out the best and everyone has their own favorite. It's based on the film of the same name and is created by the same people, Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement. As funny as the movie was the show might be even better. It's one of the rare shows where every single episode is hilarious!
NPR explains how the series' characters distinguish themselves, and the cast members establish their own rhythms as the show progresses. There is Nandor (Kayvan Novak), once a fierce, bloodthirsty warrior of the Ottoman Empire, who is now a vain, bumbling and quite literally bloodthirsty vampire who passively mistreats his sweet-faced human familiar Guillermo, (Harvey Guillén). There is the couple: ostensibly handsome and charming Laszlo (The IT Crowd's Matt Berry) and the powerful Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) who, as the series opens, chafes against her role as de facto vampire matriarch — and develops a roving eye that alights upon, among other people, community college student Jenna (Beanie Feldstein).
The vampires are hilariously out of touch with modern society making their old world opinions and commentary exceedingly funny during interactions with ordinary people.
The comedy of What We Do in the Shadows truly shines in balancing the goofiness of the vampires with Guillermo’s down to earth take as a human. Guillermo is originally presented as a sad figure, a human stuck in this subservient position, hoping desperately that one day Nandor will recognize his worth and turn him into a vampire.
As the show progresses, though, that dynamic shifts dramatically. Guillermo suddenly discovers his own power — he has Van Helsing blood, making him an uncannily great vampire killer — and gradually translates that power into a sense of self-worth as he pushes back against the vampire’s sometimes outrageously goofy and nonsensical demands. Oftentimes getting into fights and skirmishes with vampires from other clans, he always somehow manages to come out ahead and consistently survives.
Everything from the show’s costumes to the props add to the hilarity as the vampires navigate modern day problems and issues. An overall great show - remember to share an opinion in the comments below!
