It’s a Vampire all-star show! A who’s who of Hollywood vampires just showed up as the council in the most recent What We Do in the Shadows, in a total surprise and one stunning reveal after another.
Dark Greetings Everyone!
I have been loving the FX show, What We Do in the Shadows, where we follow the follies of the endearingly stupid vampires Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), and Natasha (Natasha Demetriou), along with Nandor’s loyal-to-a-fault familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillen), and the wonderfully droll “energy vampire” housemate, Colin (Mark Proksch). It’s a wonderful send-up every Wednesday and has been solidly funny throughout.
The TV show has encaptured everything that was wonderful with the Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi movie of the same name, which happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time. It shouldn’t surprise me that it’s as good as it is since Clement has been writing, and in this episode, Waititi is doing the direction. What I was not prepared for was Episode 7. WOW.
In Episode 6, our three vampire protagonists allowed the traveling vampire Baron Afanas (Doug Jones, again in full makeup) to accidentally get killed when Guillermo opened the front door and fried him with sunlight. The vampires had been stewing in the blood of drugged out townsfolks and were stoned out of their minds. And now… they’re in trouble. The Vampiric Council has caught wind of the Baron’s death, and they are going to be held accountable.
What FX managed to keep secret was that they were going to have a veritable hall of fame list of vampires show up as the Vampire Council. Taika’s work with Marvel is beginning to show its production muscle on this show, with all the talent that appears in this episode. The first genre star we encounter is Dave Bautista, in an amusing preamble to the trial, and then we get introduced to the vampire council in a culty dance number.
And then it hit me. Hey… is that Vladislav (Clement) under that hood? Yep! And Viago (Waititi)! And Deacon (Jonny Brugh)! OK, not TOTALLY unexpected, but still pretty cool. And then… it’s Tilda Swinton! (Only Lovers Left Alive)And Danny Trejo! (From Dusk til Dawn) And Paul Reubens! (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) And Evan Rachel Wood! (True Blood) And Wesley Fucking Snipes! (Blade) Granted, Wesley is Skype-ing in to the council meeting, and the council dislike the Daywalker. (Ha!) Apparently, Kiefer (Lost Boys), Tom (Interview with a Vampire), and Brad (Also Interview with a Vampire) couldn’t make it. I’m still trying to figure out who Rob would be… Pattinson? Lowe? Anyhow, Rob couldn’t make it either. If you have an idea, let me know.
So, part of the fun is that Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav introduce themselves as their character names, and the other vampires introduce themselves as their actual acting names. I half expected Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee to show up. The council brings in a couple of witnesses to testify against our vampires, including Guillermo, who bravely takes a stand that it was he who killed the Baron.
The best part about this show, and the writing, is the casual banality of the conversation. When discussing what to do with
Viago: “I don’t know you guys. Nobody really liked the Baron. Maybe we just kill this cute little guy, and then let the other three go.”
Tilda: “Does anyone else feel like… having a cheeky little snack?”
(Laszlo and Nadja are down for that… )
But, as in so many things that these vampires try and do, they fumble the handoff. Nandor, steps in to protect Guillermo, and well… GUILTY! (Whoops!) So many laugh out loud moments in this episode. If you haven’t been watching this show, do yourself a favor and set your DVR. So… much… FUN!
Here’s a Link to the FX Network. You’ll need to provide a network/cable provider for streaming.