Every Vampire Movie & TV Canon In What We Do In The Shadows

What We Do In The Shadows first gained a cult following after the release of a short film in 2005, and changed vampire movie and TV canon forever. Entitled What We Do In The Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires, the original short film immediately evokes a mocking tone, modeling its title after the famed Interview with a Vampire, which starred Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Expanding upon their original idea, creators Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement then wrote and directed their 2014 feature film which followed the short’s quippy, mockumentary format while widening their audience.

Centered around four vampire roommates, Viago, Vladislav, Deacon, and Petyr, What We Do In The Shadows captures the day-t0-day occurrences and vulnerabilities of the modern vampire. The film flips the vampire genre on its head by offering a comedic, non-threatening portrayal of a creature we have been bred to fear. In showing its audience the trials and tribulations of the roommates, no matter how brutal, bloody or basic they may be, Waititi and Clement pay homage to the every-growing vampiric canon.

In true franchise fashion, Waititi and Clement’s What We Do In The Shadows has recently been adapted for the small screen. The FX half-hour comedy series elaborates on the concept of the film, portraying three vampires who live together in a decrepit mansion on Staten Island. The series embraces the same comedic tone of the its cinematic predecessor, tackling familiar tropes such as human-hunting, eternal life, and the continuous threat of sunlight.

What We Do In The Shadows TV Vampire Canon

The television adaptation of Waititi and Clement’s vampire mockumentary delivers an intimate, behind the scenes look at life as a vampire in the modern world. The footage of the three roommates, Nandor, Laszlo, and Nadja, pokes fun at the way vampires are often portrayed on our TV screens, mocking the likes of hit series’ from True Blood to The Strain. By creating a romance between Laszlo and Nadja, the show is able to over-sexualize the characters to a laughable degree. The sexuality of vampires is a common trope within canon, oftentimes tied to themes of eternal love and carnal lust. Through the characters of Laszlo and Nadja the show is able to demonstrate the mundane corners of vampiric relationships like the boredom that may arise over the course of a centuries-long romance.

Throughout the series Nadja, in search of something new, pursues a human lover, while Laszlo reminisces about his previous affair with the group’s ancient and respected leader, Baron Afanas, who the pilot episode reveals as a monstrous creature resembling the ghoulish Master from FX’s The Strain. In combining two of the most popular portrayals of vampires- sexually deviant seducers and fear inducing monsters- What We Do In The Shadows successfully satirizes both tropes.

What We Do In The Shadows Movie Vampire Canon

Waititi and Clement’s original feature-length mockumentary established the franchise’s format and its hauntingly hilarious interpretation of vampire life. In searching the streets for their next meal, clashing with a rival gang of werewolves, and pursuing unrequited love, the vampires evoke memories of Twilight and The Lost Boys, taking their tropes from serious to silly.

The oldest roommate in the house is Petyr, a Nosferatu-looking creature who, perhaps because of his age, is prone to classic carnage and periods of long slumber. Clement’s Vladislav, is modeled after Gary Oldman’s portrayal of the titular character in Bram Stoker’s Dracula whereas Waititi’s Viago is meant to mirror Brad Pitt’s elegant Louis de Pointe du Lac from Interview with a Vampire. Clement’s dark and brooding Vladislav juxtaposed with the fashion-obsessed Viago offers a clashing image of what we, the audience, expect from our vampires. As there is no shortage of silver screen vampires, inspiration seems endless and What We Do In The Shadows continues to hold a comedic mirror up to the reflection-less face of the vampire genre.

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