Pana Alina-Simona

English A, series I, gr 3
Memory and Social Change in American Documentary Film Elective Course

Mockumentary
What We Do in the Shadows by Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi

 Mockumentary = a genre of false documentary that aims to present a convincing story

through the use of credible documentary tactics to portray a “fictional documentary.”
The origin of the mockumentary ranges back to the very beginning of film.
 A mock documentary is successful when it is able to combine both the appearance of
historically accurate elements and present believable situations through a false lens,
leading the audience to question the reality of what they are seeing.
 To capture the audiences’ trust directors of mock documentary films apply many of
the tactics and conventions Mock documentaries serve to leave the audience
questioning the reality and believability of what they view in the theatre and at home.
The mock documentary can be both real and fake, both shocking and humorous, both
projected and actual.
 What We Do in the Shadows is a mockumentary about four vampire roommates, a
smart, increasingly funny and a spot-on sendup of the reality television form.

 Petyr – a sentimental yet frightening figure;

 Viago – the dandy vampire, the cultured aristocrat, a romantic at “heart”;
 Vladislav(Vlad Tepes) – the devilish lothario;
 Deacon – the bad boy.

 Viago and his mates spend their endless time in ridiculous ways, including Deacon’s
belly-dancing routine for a bored Vladislav and Viago. Out on the town, they half-
heartedly nod to other wandering vampires and lament the fact that they can’t get into
the best nightclubs (vampires have to be invited). The fact that they don’t appear in
mirrors is another hurdle; dressing up to go out, they have to make decisions based on
Deacon’s hasty sketches of what they’re wearing.
 All of this silliness is given a fairly sophisticated dose of special effects and it mixes
perfectly with its documentary format to create some fantastically funny movie.