Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement cobble together New Zealand’s worst and most painfully funny X-Files cases.
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when they come for you? And like Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, I’ve got no idea what the rest of the lyrics to that dumb song are. Pay no nevermind. What’s important is that Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement are reteaming to deliver a savage send-up of the Cops reality television series.
Announced via Clement’s Twitter, Wellington Paranormal lifts a short sequence from What We Do in The Shadows in which New Zealand’s finest investigate the dwellings of a trio of vampiric slobs and expands it into a half-hour comedy series launching overseas next month. Just your usual batch of X-Files. They’ve got their own folder, and it’s quite thick: a drunk and disorderly featuring zombies, demonic rave enthusiasts, and streaking cult members.
#WellingtonParanormal is on the case. pic.twitter.com/3fqt2QrXKj
— Jemaine Clement (@AJemaineClement) June 28, 2018
Fear not citizens, Officers Mike Minogue and Karen O’Leary are on the case. Reprising their roles from the film, the bumbling cops are now joined by Maaka Pohatu as the head of their paranormal unit. Demons and the dead are the least of their troubles, as high fences can cause as much of a threat as anything else. Fingers crossed that they’ll run into some old friends as the 10-episode series cranks along its season.
In the coming months, What We Do In The Shadows will have spawned several spinoffs. In addition to Wellington Paranormal, the FX network is tackling an American adaptation of the film, and the werewolf-centered mockumentary sequel We’re Wolves is gearing up in pre-production.
We all want to be a part of the Taika Waititi business. The director won all geek hearts when he finally cracked the appeal of Marvel’s famous Asgardian with Thor: Ragnarok, and we will now throw him all our dollars. Heck, the man has been gifted with his own exclusive POP figure, and we’ll be fighting each other to score one at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Is there any greater recognition in nerd culture? Not likely.
However, die-hard Waititi fans know that he belongs with Clement. The two met each other while attending university and formed the comedy troupes “So You’re the Man” and “The Humorbeasts.” Waititi would direct Clement in Eagle vs. Shark, and the world would never be the same again.
What We Do In The Shadows is the culmination of their particular brand of insanity. The film is a masterful send-up of the genre, ripping into horror tropes from both the old and new schools of terror. When it originally landed, the film made waves, but since becoming available at home, What We Do In The Shadows now defines a dork’s aesthetic. What once belonged to Animal House and Caddyshack, now belongs to What We Do in The Shadows.
Cultural impacts such as this cannot be left alone. National Lampoon ran wild until the creative wells dried (and then it kept going). Airplane demanded sequels. Ace Ventura got a cartoon show. Hopefully, Clement and Waititi will fare better.
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