Is What We Do in the Shadows Scary? The Verdict and the Whole Plot
Barely, 2 out of 10. It is a flatshare comedy with some jump scares, most of them from one very old vampire.
🐱THE SCARE SIGNAL
SCARE SCORE
2 /10
🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱
DREAD LEVEL
Low
It is gone by the time the credits finish, and the flatmates are mostly bickering anyway.
DOG
Dog: not fine
not fine, since a police officer says a dog blamed for a murder will have to be put down.
Ruling: It has more flatmate bickering than biting, so it is fine for anyone who can handle some jump scares.
What We Do in the Shadows runs eighty-six minutes and is shot as a documentary about four vampires who share a house in Te Aro, a suburb of Wellington. They can levitate and turn into animals, and they still take the bus into town.
The premise, briefly
A documentary crew follows four vampire flatmates in Wellington as they feed at night and take in a newly turned housemate.
How much do you want to know?
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The verdict above is spoiler-free. Everything below, including the ending, stays hidden until you pick a depth.
🐱CUT TO THE CHASE
How it ends
Stu is mauled by werewolves, comes back as one himself, and gets Nick's banishment lifted. Viago turns Katherine into a vampire, and the flatmates let the werewolf pack in.
The scene you're dreading
The werewolf attack near the end, after the masquerade: the pack shows up under the full moon, a cameraman is violently murdered and Stu is mauled. The vampires run off believing Stu is dead, and he has survived.
The dog
The dog is not fine: in a joke, a dog is blamed for a murder and a police officer says it will have to be put down.
It is mostly a comedy with jump scares from one ancient vampire, and the one grim stretch is the werewolf attack near the end.
THE SHORT VERSION IS HIDDEN
How it ends, the scene you're dreading, what happens to the dog, and the bottom line. About twenty seconds to read.
What actually happens
Four flatmates and a bus pass
A documentary crew follows four vampires who share a flat in Te Aro, a suburb of Wellington. Viago is a dandy from the 17th century who sailed to New Zealand in the 1940s hoping to find Katherine, whom he loves. Vladislav is a 12th-century tyrant still haunted by an enemy called the Beast. Deacon is the young rebel, a former peddler from the 19th century, and Petyr is an ancient vampire who acts like a feral animal. Each night the first three take the bus into town to feed. Deacon's human familiar Jackie runs their errands and cleans up after their meals, and she is annoyed that he has not turned her into a vampire as promised. When Deacon asks for virgins, Jackie brings in a woman who insulted her at school and her ex-boyfriend Nick. Neither is a virgin. The woman is killed, Nick escapes outside, and Petyr catches him and turns him into a vampire.
Two months later the vampires have accepted Nick, and his human friend Stu, a computer analyst, shows them how modern technology works. Viago finds Katherine online. She is 96, widowed and living in a Wellington rest home. Nick gets the group into popular bars and clubs but struggles with being a vampire, and he keeps telling strangers what he is, which makes Deacon resent him. One of those strangers is a vampire hunter, who sneaks into the flat's basement while it is daylight and kills Petyr by letting the sun hit him. The vampires are furious. Deacon tries to kill Nick but is interrupted when the police come for a welfare check, and Viago hypnotises everyone into seeing nothing unusual. After the police leave, the flatmates banish Nick, although Stu is still welcome to visit.
The Unholy Masquerade has a werewolf problem
Several months later the vampires are invited to the Unholy Masquerade, an annual ball for the local vampires, zombies and witches. Vladislav stays home because the Beast is the guest of honour. Viago and Deacon go and find Nick, Stu and Jackie there, and Nick has turned Jackie into a vampire. The Beast turns out to be Vladislav's ex-girlfriend Pauline. When the guests realise that Stu and the camera crew are living humans, they threaten to make a meal of them. Vladislav shows up and fights Pauline's new boyfriend Julian, and Stu impales Julian on a flagpole. The vampires and the crew flee with Stu and run straight into a competing pack of werewolves, who change shape as the full moon rises. This is the scene to brace for: one cameraman is violently murdered and Stu is mauled. The vampires believe Stu is dead, run away and grieve.
The ending, explained
Some time later, Nick comes back to the flat with Stu, who survived the attack and has become a werewolf. At Stu's urging the pack visits, Nick's banishment is lifted, and after some hesitation Deacon lets the werewolves inside. Viago rekindles his romance with Katherine and turns her into a vampire. Scenes during the credits show that Vladislav is back with Pauline, repeating his old pattern, and that Jackie's husband is now her familiar. In a scene after the credits, Deacon tries to hypnotise the audience into forgetting the whole film.
The post-credits ruling
Yes. There are scenes during the credits and one after them, in which Deacon tries to hypnotise the audience into forgetting the film.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: not fine, since a police officer says a dog blamed for a murder will have to be put down.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is What We Do in the Shadows scary?
Barely, What We Do in the Shadows is a 2 out of 10 with low dread. It is a comedy with some jump scares involving the ancient vampire Petyr and one violent stretch with werewolves near the end.
How does What We Do in the Shadows end?
Stu survives a werewolf attack by becoming a werewolf, Nick's banishment is lifted, and the vampires let the werewolf pack into the flat. Viago also turns Katherine into a vampire.
Does the dog die in What We Do in the Shadows?
Sort of. In What We Do in the Shadows an innocent-looking dog is blamed for a murder in a joke, and a police officer says it will have to be put down.
Is there a post-credits scene in What We Do in the Shadows?
Yes. What We Do in the Shadows has scenes during the credits and one after them, in which Deacon tries to hypnotise the audience into forgetting the film.
Who is the Beast in What We Do in the Shadows?
The Beast is Pauline, Vladislav's ex-girlfriend. Vladislav is haunted by her and refuses to attend the Unholy Masquerade because she is the guest of honour, and by the end he is back together with her.
BLURRED FOR YOUR PROTECTION
The whole plot of What We Do in the Shadows is hidden, ending included. It stays that way until you ask.
What We Do in the Shadows takes eighty-six minutes, and the werewolf scene is the only part worth bracing for. Install Scaredy Cat and it blurs horror before you see it.
