Taika’s undead invade America
First, an admission. Two films sit permanently at the top of Casa Belfield’s My Sky list for use in case of emergency blues: The
Big Lebowsky and What We Do In The Shadows.
So, to learn that the latter had been taken up for a series-length American reinterpretation was a little unnerving. Yes, I know that The Office fared well Stateside with Steve Carell in the driving seat, but there’s always a little trepidation when it comes to translating deadpan mockumentaries overseas – and especially in the land of the free-from-irony.
But, fear not, Taika Waititi’s calamitous suburban bloodsuckers and their mock-abre nightly quest for virgin souls works just as well set in New York as Wellington. And although Waititi and co-star from the 2014 film Jemaine Clement don’t reprise their roles for the TV series, they do retain their writing, directing and producing input behind the camera to ensure the same rippling chuckles follow from opening sequence to credits.
Those vampires that step in to replace Viago and Vladislov for the series are cut from the same intense-yet-clueless cloth as their movie forefathers. Nandor (played by Kayvan Novak) has Vladislav’s bungling leadership and a touch of Viago’s feyness, the wonderful Laszlo (played by booming-voiced Brit Matt Berry from cult oddities The
Mighty Boosh and Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace) has Deacon’s swagger, Baron Afanese is a recast Petyr and vampirewannabe Guillermo is a cross between Jackie and a Latino Stu.
To ensure that fans of the film don’t simply watch a series-long drawn-out rehash of the original script, there are plenty of tweaks – we now have a female vampire Nadja to add some withering womanly wit to the boyish bickering and the addition of Colin Robinson, an ‘‘energy vampire’’ who saps mortal souls and drains the spirit of even his predatory housemates.
But while the characters ham up familiar set-pieces (hissing and flying during rows, blood-spattering neck-chomping sessions with victims, fun with entering/exiting coffins), the US setting gives plenty of room for new gags.
For example, while Wellington’s hipsters meant the Kiwi vampires’ costumes didn’t stand out during a night in Courtenay Place, Staten Island’s soul-less suburbia means no one seems to care about the weirdos next door. Rather than lording it over their neighbourhood, our New World vampires struggle to cope with the 21st century.
The very fact that they’re still in Staten Island after first arriving 200 years ago is also pivotal to their characters – they were sent to America to conquer it. They haven’t even managed to move past their port of arrival.
What We Do In The Shadows is gory, slapstick, wry and adds to the WaititiClement vampire-universe in much the same way as TVNZ’s Wellington Paranormal did. Simply put, it’s dead funny.
If Vicky Pattison: The Break Up was a mockumentary it would possibly stand more of a chance – but unfortunately this hour of dour, selfie TV about a made-for-telly romance gone sour is all too real.
In a nutshell: Vicky loves John; Vicky and John get engaged and a red-brick mansion; Vicky gets a TV crew to cover the wedding; John plays around during a holiday in Dubai; Vicky repurposes the TV crew to cover her tears, tantrums and efforts to turn her life around.
As well as potentially setting feminism back a decade or so (our heroine insists on referring to herself as a ‘‘fanny’’ or ‘‘full vagina’’ when she shows weakness and needing ‘‘lady-balls’’ to get back on track), she also has plenty of opportunity to undercut any sympathy she undoubtedly deserves for her ex’s appalling behaviour.
Nice examples include telling an echoing hall of fans at a Body Confidence seminar that John will ‘‘never take my career’’, invoking the healing philosophy of Tigger (yup, the bouncy friend of Winnie the Pooh – that Tigger), worrying that she might now have to get rid of her new couch which ‘‘wasn’t cheap either’’, and necking a bottle of plonk in the back of a taxi before going speed-dating as a way to reclaim her independence. While the mascara flows, there’s also time for a taxing gym session, a spell at a Portuguese health spa, a spot of London apartment shopping, and an inexplicable flying lesson.
Fortunately, Vicky Pattison – I learn from the seedier ends of celebrity cyberspace – has already hooked up again with another reality TV Z-list star and is ‘‘smiling again’’. Cue: Vicky Pattison: The Make Up.