What We Do in the Shadows (franchise)
What We Do in the Shadows is a series of mockumentary horror comedy films and television series created by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi. The series' plot concerns several vampires who live together in shared accommodation, followed by a film documentary crew.
| What We Do in the Shadows | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Jemaine Clement Taika Waititi |
| Original work | What We Do in the Shadows |
| Owned by | New Zealand Film Commission |
| Years | 2014–present |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) |
|
| Television series |
|
| Audio | |
| Soundtrack(s) | What We Do in the Shadows |
Films
| Film | N.Z. release date | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenplay by | Story by | Producer(s) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What We Do in the Shadows | January 9, 2014 | February 13, 2015 | Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi | Taika Waititi, Chelsea Winstanley and Emanuel Michael | Released | ||
| We're Wolves | TBA | TBA | In development | ||||
What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Vampire housemates (Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh) try to cope with the complexities of modern life and show a newly turned hipster (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer) some of the perks of being undead.
We're Wolves (TBA)
A sequel to the What We Do in the Shadows, focused on the werewolves depicted in the film, originally rumoured to be titled What We Do in the Moonlight, was announced as being in development in August 2015.[1][2] In May 2019 Taika Waititi said "We're Wolves is the film that Jemaine and I keep pretending that we’re making. Every couple of years we say, we’re making this new film called We're Wolves which follows the werewolves from the film,” said Waititi. “I feel bad to even mention it now because we keep saying it, [but] it’s like a dad saying, ‘Yeah, I’ll be home for Christmas.’ I suppose we’re just two dads out on the road enjoying our lives and going, ‘We’re not coming home for Christmas.’ We'll send a postcard. It's not like we don't want to come home for Christmas. We would like nothing more but we have a lot of shit going on. When are you going to die? Do you have a ... deadline before your death? I guarantee it before then. Five years, 10 years? It took us seven years to write the [first] film, so you do the math. That was a sad thing to say."[3]
Interviews with some Vampires (2005)
“What we do in the Shadows: Interviews with some Vampires” (2005) is the original 29-minute short film by Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement, which inspired their 2014 film. In the short, three vampires—Deacon Brugh (Jonny Brugh), Count Viago (Waititi), and Vulvus the Abhorrent (Clement)—who share an apartment are interviewed by a TV crew.[4][5]
Vampire's Guide to Vellington (2014)
Vampire's Guide to Vellington is a short film and advertisement campaign by Wellington to promote the city as a vampire-friendly place to visit. The film follows vampire Viago promoting the nightlife, cinemas and clothes shops of the city alongside his flatmates Vladislav and Deacon. As part of the campaign, the 'W' in the Wellington Blown Away sign on Miramar hill was temporarily changed to a blood-red 'V'.[6]
Dating 101 with Viago (2014)
Dating 101 with Viago is a short film and advertisement campaign to promote the online dating services FindSomeone and Dating for Shoes. The film follows Dating for Shoes founder Angela Meyer giving Viago a tutorial on creating his very own FindSomeone profile: from creating a username, to describing his hobbies and interests.[7]
Television
Wellington Paranormal (2018–present)
The series follows Officers Minogue and O'Leary as they act as officers of the Wellington Police Department's Paranormal division under Sergeant Maaka.
What We Do in the Shadows (2019–present)
The series follows four vampire roommates and one vampire familiar living on Staten Island.
Important COVID-19 Messages from Wellington Paranormal (2020)
Important COVID-19 Messages from Wellington Paranormal is a sixteen-episode digital web series and public service campaign by New Zealand Police to inform the public on health, safety, and best practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The series follows Officers Minogue and O'Leary in home isolation, and features several guests, including Sergeant Maaka and Officer Parker, as well as Andrew Coster and Clarke Gayford as themselves.[8]
Cast and crew
Cast
| Character | Films | Short films | Television series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What We Do in the Shadows | What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires |
Vampire's Guide to Vellington | Dating 101 with Viago | Wellington Paranormal | What We Do in the Shadows | ||||
| Series 1 | Series 2 | Important COVID-19 Messages from Wellington Paranormal | Season 1 | Season 2 | |||||
| 2014 | 2005 | 2014 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | ||
| Viago Von Dorna Schmarten Scheden Heimburg (né von Blitzenberg) |
Taika Waititi | Taika Waititi | Taika Waititi | ||||||
| Vladislav the Poker | Jemaine Clement | Jemaine Clement | |||||||
| Deacon Brücke | Jonathan Brugh | Jonathan Brugh | Jonathan Brugh | ||||||
| Nick | Cori Gonzalez-Macuer | Cori Gonzalez-Macuer | |||||||
| Stu | Stu Rutherford | ||||||||
| Officer O'Leary | Karen O'Leary | Karen O'Leary | |||||||
| Officer Kyle Minogue | Mike Minogue | Mike Minogue | |||||||
| Dion | Simon Vincent | Simon Vincent | |||||||
| Petyr | Ben Fransham | ||||||||
| Wesley the Daywalker | Wesley Snipes (photograph) | Wesley Snipes | |||||||
| Jackie | Jackie van Beek | ||||||||
| Anton | Rhys Darby | ||||||||
| Julian | Jason Hoyte | ||||||||
| Katherine Heimburg | Ethel Robinson | ||||||||
| Pauline "The Beast" | Elena Stejko | ||||||||
| Angela Meyer, Founder of Dating for Shoes | Herself | ||||||||
| Sergeant Ruawai Maaka | Maaka Pohatu | ||||||||
| Constable/Officer Parker | Thomas Sainsbury | ||||||||
| O'Leary alien | Karen O'Leary | ||||||||
| Kyle Minogue alien | Mike Minogue | ||||||||
| Clarke Gayford | Himself | ||||||||
| Mrs. O'Leary | Lynda Topp | ||||||||
| Andrew Coster, Commissioner of Police | Himself | ||||||||
| Nandor the Relentless | Kayvan Novak | ||||||||
| Laszlo Cravensworth | Matt Berry | ||||||||
| Nadja | Natasia Demetriou | ||||||||
| Guillermo De la Cruz | Harvey Guillén | ||||||||
| Colin Robinson | Mark Proksch | ||||||||
| Jenna | Beanie Feldstein | Beanie Feldstein | |||||||
| Gregor / Jeff Suckler | Jake McDorman | ||||||||
| Simon the Devious | Nick Kroll | ||||||||
| Shanice | Veronika Slowikowska | ||||||||
| Baron Afanas | Doug Jones | Doug Jones | |||||||
| Tilda, Leader of the Vampiric Council | Tilda Swinton | Tilda Swinton | |||||||
| Evan the Immortal Princess of the Undead | Evan Rachel Wood | ||||||||
| Topher | Haley Joel Osment | ||||||||
| Wallace, the Necromancer | Benedict Wong | ||||||||
| Nadja's Ghost | Natasia Demetriou | ||||||||
| Claude, Leader of the Mosquito Collectors of the Tri-State Area | Craig Robinson | ||||||||
| Jim the Vampire | Mark Hamill | ||||||||
| Lilith | Lucy Punch / Helena Garcia | ||||||||
Reception
References
- Chavez, Danette (17 August 2015). "What We Do in the Shadows Is Getting a Sequel." AVClub.com. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
- Saathoff, Evan (25 January 2016). "What We Do in the Shadows Follow-up Gets A Snappy Title".
- Nguyen, Hanh (May 24, 2019). "Taika Waititi Talks 'What We Do in the Shadows' and the Wait for the 'Werewolves' Movie". Indie Wire.
- Waititi, Taika; Clement, Jemaine (2005). “What we do in the Shadows: Interviews with some Vampires” (short film). Wellington, New Zealand: Defender Films. Runtime 28:53 – via Pop Culture Pandora on YouTube (Jan 30, 2016).
- "What we do in the Shadows: Interviews with some Vampires" (2005) at IMDb
- APNZ (2014-06-10). "Vampires take over 'Vellington'". The New Zealand Herald.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqQLNV6gGLc
- "Important COVID-19 messages from Wellington Paranormal".