I often do things backwards. It’s not really intensional. You see, I’m busy with my day job and something most people may not realize is that researching and writing are also a full-time job. Only they don’t pay well, unless you’re a professor. In any case, I find out about things in odd ways. A friend got me watching What We Do in the Shadows, the current FX television show. I then realized it was based on a movie so I decided I should see that before going any further. The movie is funny, but the television show develops some of the same bits so really, it is best to see the movie first. It turns out that while I’ve been busy working, and writing books on other types of horror movies, this franchise has been developing. So what’s it about? Vampires unliving together.
One of the contradictions about vampires, as the undead, is that they live by certain rules that make them distinct. Going back to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, they don’t always live alone. In fact, three female vampires live in Castle Dracula (although the Count moves to England without them). What We Do in the Shadows is based on the premise of vampire roommates in contemporary housing. How would they get along as roommates? Many of us have experienced roommates and we know the kinds of conflicts that normally arise. Would the undead have some other complications? In case you haven’t gathered so already, this is comedy. There are a few vampire chase scenes and a hilarious interaction with werewolves, all filmed as a mockumentary. It’s pretty funny stuff.
There’s nothing too serious here, but there is bloodshed, of course. And the developing of different characters for the undead and putting them together in one house does lead to all kinds of situations, some of them adult. The television show is binge-worthy, if you’ve got the time and if you like vampires. If you want to start from the beginning, the movie sets the premise well. Vampires are so well established culturally that there’s plenty of room to fly. Comedy horror has really come into its own. Vampires have been culturally ascendant for quite some time now. They are yet another thing I was fascinated by as a child that later became cool. I wrote one of my senior term papers on vampires in high school, before college convinced me such things were puerile. Now I’m finding that the culture has gone after them. As I say, sometimes I do things backwards, even on a large scale.