What We Do In the Shadows: Playing on Character's Self Delusion

Directed by Jermaine Clement and Taika Waititi. Cinematography by Richard Bluck. D.J. Stipsen.
Pretty much any time you do a mocumentary, there will be a review which says "The Spinal Tap of _______".

And there it is. How do we feel about posters where the characters from the movie overlay the words on the poster? Are they trying to get me to believe the words were in the actual shot? Is his hand really resting on the "W"? It's all lies!
If you're familiar with 'Flight of the Concords' you'll be comfortable with the style of humor. "What We Do..." makes use of the cinema verite style to give us a more intimate feel for the lives of these four creatures of the night.
But this is not just a film imagining what the vampire lifestyle is in this fictional world. Like most good documentaries, what we are advertised and what we explore are two different things.

They present themselves as paladins for vampire traditions, but yearn to be in touch with the modern world. The heart of the film is three guys trying to stay cool. But like a middle aged film blogger who has no idea why all of sudden electronic music took over, they end up looking like clownish buffoons. Though in my hipster days I might have described that coat above as having a sweet Daniel-Boone-like feel.
So in this way, we watch them watch us. The theme  is inverted as the vampires reflect our most shallow and clownish instincts. We're not learning about their society so much as we are learning how our society looks to them.

My favorite line was Jemaine (above) explaining how he was turned at 16-years-old. He says something like "I look like this because life was much harder for a teenager back then." Ha. Still funny. Probably funnier if you have the actual line. And delivery.
This brings up the crux between the characters: generational differences. In the beginning of the film they all list their names and ages. But special attention is paid to the ages of each vampire. The older you are the greater your status.

The least liked character is the youngest one, who kinda informs a vampire hunter about the presence of the group. Hey he's new at this. Sometimes you miss the vein when you bite, sometimes you inform your mortal enemy of your whereabouts and he kills the oldest and most prestigious vampire in your group.  
Highly Recommended. I'll be watching "What We Do..." a few times I suspect.