DVD Review: What We Do in the Shadows - Seasons 1 & 2

What We Do in the Shadows – Seasons 1 & 2
(DVD What)

What We Do in the Shadows is a TV series on the FX cable network which premiered in 2019, and is inspired by a movie of the same title, which came out in 2014. The film was created by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi (who also starred in the movie) and the series continues under the creative eye of Clement. However, the setting has changed, as have the central characters. But the idea is still the same — an eclectic group of vampires have been living in the same house on Staten Island for hundreds of years, trying to blend into the local populace, but they’re completely out of touch with modern culture.

 

The central characters here are Nandor (Kayvan Novak), a former merciless warlord, Nadya (Natasha Demetriou), a lusty female vampire and her husband Laszlo (whom she made into a vampire centuries ago), who fancies himself some of a scientific experimenter. Also living in the house is Colin Robinson, a mild-mannered “energy vampire” who drains the psychic energy from his victims, usually by boring them to death in creative ways. Rounding out the cast of roommates is Guillermo, a former vampire killer (unbeknownst to his housemates) who has become a familiar (supposedly in thrall) to Nandor, who has promised to eventually turn Guillermo into a vampire if he serves the house in an almost slave-like capacity.

 

The story is told documentary-film-style, much like popular sitcoms The Office and Modern Family, where a film crew is constantly present, and the vampires and Guillermo, in addition to speaking amongst themselves, frequently do on camera interviews to comment on what is happening in wry and sardonic asides.

 

The humor is sharp, witty and often filled with the kind of unfiltered qualities that would have earned this series an “R” rating as film — lots of swearing and sexual humor. Most of the time, it is characters sitting around talking, interspersed with occasional field trips outside of their gothic mansion into “the real world”, and occasional violent bursts of bloody action — they are all vampires, after all. The series pokes fun at nearly every vampire trope imaginable, with our regulars meeting and interacting with other types of vampires from the worlds of pop culture (though not yet the “sparkly vampires” of Twilight). The pomposity of these centuries-old creatures thinking they are the height of culture and society, when they are literally decades if not centuries out of step with the world is where most the humor comes from — all three traditional vampires are proud to have been invited to a neighbor’s Superb Owl party (when it is actually a Super Bowl party), is an example.

 

What We Do in the Shadows has run now for five seasons on FX and streaming platforms as of 2023, but only the first two 10-episode seasons have been released to DVD and are in the libraries’ collection. Each 10-episode season is filled with stand-alone episodes but also has plot threads that last the entire season and come to a head in the season finale. The performances are all excellent, though in my opinion Matt Berry as Laszlo and Harvey Guillen as Guillermo steal the show in nearly all of their scenes, particularly Guillermo in his non-verbal facial reactions and glances at the camera as he deals with the actions and statements of the clueless but authoritarian vampires he has to care for.

 

What We Do in the Shadows is perfect for fans of comedic horror, as long as you don’t mind a lot of “adult content”, and for anyone who loves the mocumentary-film style of storytelling. Individual episodes themselves may vary in quality, but overall I’d say the first two seasons easily earn an overall “9” rating from me!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the original 2014 film What We Do in the Shadows,)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this series ) | ( official What We Do in the Shadows web page on the FX network )

 

Read Scott C.’s review of the 2014 film What We Do in the Shadows, in the November 2015 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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