# What We Do in the Shadows
*What We Do in the Shadows* is a 2014 New Zealand horror-comedy mockumentary co-directed, co-written by, and co-starring [Taika Waititi](https://www.edgepedia.org/taika-waititi) and [Jemaine Clement](https://www.edgepedia.org/jemaine-clement), in which a documentary crew films vampire flatmates coping with mundane modern life in [Wellington](https://www.edgepedia.org/wellington).[1](https://www.sbs.com.au/whats-on/article/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-taika-waititi-and-jemaine-clement-interview/adqa61b2l) • [2](https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/films/6829/) It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014, grossed about $8.9 million worldwide, and spawned an American television series that ran for six seasons on FX.[3](https://www.looper.com/207344/the-untold-truth-of-what-we-do-in-the-shadows/) • [4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3416742/) • [5](https://editfestglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CE-2025-2QTR-Online.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Directors and writers | Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, who also star as Viago and Vladislav[2](https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/films/6829/) |
| Genre | Horror-comedy mockumentary about vampire housemates in Wellington, New Zealand[2](https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/films/6829/) |
| Premiere | Sundance Film Festival, 2014[3](https://www.looper.com/207344/the-untold-truth-of-what-we-do-in-the-shadows/) |
| Release | New Zealand June 19, 2014; US limited release February 13, 2015; runtime 1 hr 27 min[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3416742/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/what_we_do_in_the_shadows) |
| Box office | $8,949,200 worldwide ($3,469,224 domestic)[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3416742/) |
| Critical reception | 96% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 191 reviews; 87% audience score[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/what_we_do_in_the_shadows) |
| Franchise | FX television series (2019–2024, six seasons, 29 Emmy nominations) and a planned film sequel, *We're Wolves*[5](https://editfestglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CE-2025-2QTR-Online.pdf) • [7](https://www.nme.com/news/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-film-is-getting-a-sequel-soon-3952902) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and characters
The film follows three vampire flatmates, Viago (Taika Waititi), Vladislav (Jemaine Clement), and Deacon (Jonny Brugh), who share a house in Wellington, joined by the 8,000-year-old Petyr (Ben Fransham). A camera crew documents their struggles with ordinary life: paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, getting into nightclubs, and not seeing themselves in mirrors, alongside the constant need to source human blood and stay out of sunlight.[2](https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/films/6829/) • [4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3416742/) When Petyr turns 20-something hipster Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer) into a vampire, the group must introduce their new recruit to the rules of eternal life.[2](https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/films/6829/) The comedy comes from the vampires' lack of self-awareness as they wearily report their nightly travails to camera.[2](https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/films/6829/)
## Development and production
**Origins in a 2005 short.** Waititi and Clement came up with the idea in 2005, when, as Waititi put it, nobody was doing vampire movies and *Underworld* had just come out; they spent a weekend making a short film with friends to test the characters.[1](https://www.sbs.com.au/whats-on/article/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-taika-waititi-and-jemaine-clement-interview/adqa61b2l) That short, the 27-minute *What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires*, written, directed, and starring the two, did not gain traction, and both moved on to separate projects.[3](https://www.looper.com/207344/the-untold-truth-of-what-we-do-in-the-shadows/) Clement later said the short was made as a funding proposal for a feature.[8](https://www.mic.com/articles/110604/from-the-makers-of-flight-of-the-conchords-a-wickedly-funny-vampire-mockumentary)
**A decade to the screen.** About four years after the short, the pair began writing the feature version, and it took another four years to get the production off the ground.[3](https://www.looper.com/207344/the-untold-truth-of-what-we-do-in-the-shadows/) Editing proved the most time-consuming task: the film's 87-minute running time was winnowed down from 125 hours of footage.[3](https://www.looper.com/207344/the-untold-truth-of-what-we-do-in-the-shadows/)
**Improvisation.** After writing a script, the filmmakers agreed to have the film made up of entirely improvised performances. Clement and Waititi did not let the actors see the script; instead they described it to them.[8](https://www.mic.com/articles/110604/from-the-makers-of-flight-of-the-conchords-a-wickedly-funny-vampire-mockumentary)
## Reception
The film world-premiered to a midnight crowd at Sundance in 2014[1](https://www.sbs.com.au/whats-on/article/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-taika-waititi-and-jemaine-clement-interview/adqa61b2l) and won the People's Choice award for best entry in the Midnight Madness program at the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) that fall.[9](https://halifax.citynews.ca/2015/02/09/qa-jemaine-clement-and-stuart-rutherford-talk-what-we-do-in-the-shadows/) After winning fangtastic reviews at Sundance and [South by Southwest](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-by-southwest), it won a run of global sales and four Moa awards, including Best Self-Funded Feature.[10](https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-2014)
Critics responded to its deadpan tone and character work. The *Oregonian* placed it next to *This Is Spinal Tap* as a mockumentary that shows its subjects as human in their hopes and fears, and *Salon* praised its ability to create characters audiences care about within a world with clear, if ridiculous, governing laws.[11](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/what-we-do-in-the-shadows/critic-reviews/) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 96% Tomatometer from 191 reviews, with a critics consensus calling it smarter, fresher, and funnier than a modern vampire movie has any right to be.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/what_we_do_in_the_shadows) *Time* later named it the best-reviewed comedy of 2015 in Rotten Tomatoes' year-end roundup.[12](https://time.com/4173671/rotten-tomatoes-best-reviewed-movies-tv-2015/)
## Television series and franchise
In 2019, FX began airing a television adaptation, a mockumentary about four vampires, Nandor the Relentless ([Kayvan Novak](https://www.edgepedia.org/kayvan-novak)), Laszlo ([Matt Berry](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-berry)), Nadja ([Natasia Demetriou](https://www.edgepedia.org/natasia-demetriou)), and energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), plus their familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), who share a house on Staten Island.[3](https://www.looper.com/207344/the-untold-truth-of-what-we-do-in-the-shadows/) Clement created the series and served as co-showrunner, while Waititi was an executive producer, directed the pilot and two other first-season episodes, and reprised his film character in a cameo.[13](https://www.theringer.com/2020/04/15/tv/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-interview-season-two) The series ran for six seasons between 2019 and 2024 and earned 29 Emmy nominations with one win.[7](https://www.nme.com/news/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-film-is-getting-a-sequel-soon-3952902) • [5](https://editfestglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CE-2025-2QTR-Online.pdf) A spin-off, *Wellington Paranormal*, followed characters from the film.[10](https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-2014)
A film sequel, *We're Wolves*, focusing on the werewolves seen in the first film, has been discussed since the original's release; Clement confirmed in 2026 that it is officially moving forward, written with Waititi, though the pair remain undecided between the film's improvisational style and the TV show's scripted approach.[7](https://www.nme.com/news/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-film-is-getting-a-sequel-soon-3952902)
## References
1. [What We Do in the Shadows: Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement interview, SBS](https://www.sbs.com.au/whats-on/article/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-taika-waititi-and-jemaine-clement-interview/adqa61b2l)
2. [What We Do In the Shadows, Independent Cinema Office](https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/films/6829/)
3. [The Untold Truth Of What We Do In The Shadows, Looper](https://www.looper.com/207344/the-untold-truth-of-what-we-do-in-the-shadows/)
4. [What We Do in the Shadows, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3416742/)
5. [What We Do in the Shadows, Cutters Editions Fest Global (2025)](https://editfestglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CE-2025-2QTR-Online.pdf)
6. [What We Do in the Shadows, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/what_we_do_in_the_shadows)
7. [What We Do In The Shadows film is getting a sequel soon, NME](https://www.nme.com/news/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-film-is-getting-a-sequel-soon-3952902)
8. [From the Makers of Flight of the Conchords, A Wickedly Funny Vampire Mockumentary, Mic](https://www.mic.com/articles/110604/from-the-makers-of-flight-of-the-conchords-a-wickedly-funny-vampire-mockumentary)
9. [Q&A: Jemaine Clement and Stuart Rutherford talk What We Do in the Shadows, CityNews Halifax](https://halifax.citynews.ca/2015/02/09/qa-jemaine-clement-and-stuart-rutherford-talk-what-we-do-in-the-shadows/)
10. [What We Do in the Shadows, NZ On Screen](https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-2014)
11. [What We Do in the Shadows critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/what-we-do-in-the-shadows/critic-reviews/)
12. [Here Are Rotten Tomatoes' Best Reviewed Movies and TV Shows of 2015, Time](https://time.com/4173671/rotten-tomatoes-best-reviewed-movies-tv-2015/)
13. [Reality Bites: How What We Do in the Shadows Became the Funniest Show on TV, The Ringer](https://www.theringer.com/2020/04/15/tv/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-interview-season-two)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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