‘What We Do in the Shadows’: One of Horror’s Most Underrated Movies Is Getting a Sequel
There are horror movies that become mainstream sensations, and then there are the ones that quietly build devoted followings until they become modern classics.
For me, What We Do in the Shadows belongs firmly in that second category.
Released in 2014, the mockumentary horror-comedy from Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement took the found footage format and applied it to a group of centuries-old vampires sharing a flat in Wellington, New Zealand. The film follows Viago, Vladislav, Deacon, and their undead housemates as they navigate roommate drama, feeding schedules, nightlife, and the everyday inconveniences of being immortal.
Written, directed, and starring Waititi and Clement, the film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and quickly earned widespread critical acclaim. Horror fans embraced its deadpan humor, loving affection for vampire mythology, and endlessly quotable characters. Despite the praise, however, it never quite became the crossover phenomenon it deserved to be. Instead, it remained something of a cult favorite that genre fans couldn’t stop recommending to their friends.
That’s why it was such a surprise when the property was adapted into a television series.
Premiering on FX in 2019, What We Do in the Shadows shifted the action to Staten Island while maintaining the documentary format that made the original film so special. Created by Jemaine Clement and executive produced by Taika Waititi, the series introduced audiences to Nandor, Laszlo, Nadja, Colin Robinson, and Guillermo, quickly becoming one of the funniest and most inventive horror-comedy shows on television.
What could have been a forgettable spin-off instead ran for six critically acclaimed seasons, concluding in December 2024. Along the way, it earned dozens of Emmy nominations and established itself as one of the great modern genre comedies. Every season somehow managed to top the one before it with deeper vampire lore, surprise guest stars, absurd supernatural mythology, and a genuine love for horror history.
Now, it sounds like the original vampires may finally be returning.
In a new interview with Nexus Point News, Jemaine Clement revealed that he and his collaborators are actively developing another movie set in the world of What We Do in the Shadows. The revelation came while discussing a potential animated continuation of the television series.
“Of the TV show, I talked to a company about it,” Clement said. “They wanted to make an animated What We Do in the Shadows, but I feel like my work with FX was that one show and I think we’ve ended our relationship with FX. I feel like I’ll move on now. But yeah, it did come up.”
He then dropped the news fans have been waiting years to hear:
“We’re writing another What We Do in the Shadows movie, like a sequel to the movie.”
That’s all we know right now, but frankly, that’s enough.
For years, fans have heard occasional updates about various sequel ideas, including the long-discussed werewolf-focused project We’re Wolves. Whether this new film evolves from that concept or heads in an entirely different direction remains to be seen.
Few horror comedies have aged as well as What We Do in the Shadows, and even fewer have spawned a television adaptation that arguably became just as beloved as the movie that inspired it.
If Waititi, Clement, and company really are returning to this world, I’ll be first in line.
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