What We Do in the Shadows

It’s a hilarious catharsis for the relatable day-to-day problems that arise between co-workers, housemates, and family members using vampires in ridiculous situations. Even though the specifics for these fish-out-of-water immortals—such as relationship management of a needy familiar or maneuvering the swindling tactics of a necromancer—are nothing of this world, the cadence of delivery and character commitment make the scenes feel all too … familiar (and you can count on jokes like that delivered with perfect self irreverence to make a moment of stupidity very funny).

The chemistry of the main group, Laszlo (Barry), his wife Nadja (Demetrio), and Nandor (Novak) alongside Nandor’s familiar, Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), and energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksh)—who feeds off the energy he drains from people while droning on about mundane topics—allows for a seamless buy-in of thousand-year-old vampires blending into the human environment around them. And when they are not bickering with each other over mundane issues such as the existence of ghosts or how to properly prepare for an epic vampire orgy, they offer insights via a straight-to-camera device that’s so well done it doesn’t get old, despite all those years of seeing it on The Office and other similar shows. And while they all have their “confessional” moments, Guillermo seems to be closest to the audience, playing the part of a human servant wishing for the chance to become a vampire—probably strikes a chord with some personal assistants out there.

The production’s consistent adherence to mock-documentary format, rife with handheld camera movements, crash zooms, and a lot of fast cuts to Guillermo for a reaction shot, elevates the comedy. In one episode the crew is even incorporated into the narrative, intentionally cutting audio at points for the finished episode.