Reviews
“What We Do in the Shadows” Season 5 Review – FX’s Vampire Comedy Still Feels as Fresh as Ever
Trips to the mall, pride parades, and political aspirations keep Staten Island’s most unique undead busy with a strong season of supernatural soul-searching.
“People can be real parasites…”
The vampires in What We Do in the Shadows are hundreds of years old and while the audience has only been privy to a minuscule fraction of their existence, it’s funny how five seasons can begin to feel like an eternity. Five seasons can be a crucial period for any television series, let alone one that benefits from the limitless nature of vampires and other paranormal creatures, where what worked in the past now wears thin. After four full seasons, What We Do in the Shadows has already touched upon and remixed all of the mainstream vampire tropes. A less confident series would return to the comfort of what’s previously worked, like the safety of a coffin, but What We Do in the Shadows fearlessly forges forward with newfound enthusiasm. This latest season is a satisfying reminder of what made the show successful in the first place, but it also strives to build new relationships and character dynamics through bold, serialized storylines. What We Do in the Shadows’ characters are at their oldest and beginning to show their age, yet this season feels fresher than ever.
It’s difficult for any series to feel fresh five seasons in and What We Do in the Shadows deserves credit for how much these episodes disrupt the status quo. This season is particularly confident when it comes to finding new scenarios for these characters to explore instead of just a retread of what’s worked in the past. A group trip to the mall, for instance, is a playful, low stakes way to kick off the season that’s both familiar and fresh. The same can be said for the vampires’ exposure to a Pride Parade or a night out drinking “with the boys,” and the wild tangents that are born out of this mundanity.
One of this seasons’ greatest strengths is its ability to find new ways to surprise audiences, especially when it feels like the show is about to retread old ideas. This might be What We Do in the Shadows’ most genuinely vicious season. There are some extreme displays of violence that translate into absurd sight gags that feel like a response to the show’s mission to continually top itself. It’s a new element that works well and one that might have felt too cold in the show’s earlier seasons, even if a black sense of humor has always been in What We Do in the Shadows’ DNA.
This season of What We Do in the Shadows challenges itself and its genre in major ways, but this compulsion to prove oneself also carries over into every character. This is most prominent with Guillermo’s struggles to accept whether he’s finally worthy of the vampire label, but also in Colin’s quest to prove himself in office, Laszlo’s acceptance of his subpar hypnosis skills, or The Guide and Nadja’s revelation that they do deserve female friendship. Some of these breakthroughs come across as glib. Nevertheless, it’s still powerful to see these vampires get a better hold on existence and what it means to live their best lives, even if they’ve been dead for centuries.
What We Do in the Shadows continues to double-down on Guillermo and his arc is definitely the most dynamic this season. He physically experiences the greatest changes and this season is all about him proving if he can make it as a vampire, whether he is one or not, and what a privilege that title holds. Guillermo’s metamorphosis is a fun subversion of his existing power dynamic that allows his relationship with vampirism, self esteem, and friends to continue to develop even if it still recycles the same broader ideas. Guillermo faces the ultimate betrayal and this relationship grows more complicated than ever.
Guillermo’s struggle isn’t made public, yet Nadja finds herself at a similar crossroads once she investigates a hex in her present that has ties to her family and her neglected past. Nadja’s Doll also returns in a very satisfying manner and this season gives her some of her best material in the series. It’s continually amusing how strong of a combination she and Nadja are, especially when they’re out in public. This season pushes their bond to incestuous new supernatural places. Oddly enough, Nadja’s pursuits tie together with Colin’s decision to find purpose through politics.
Colin’s bid for Staten Island comptroller is a fun way to complicate the season and riff on the past. It’s a move that’s reminiscent of Nadja’s vampire club or the group’s efforts to take over the Vampiric Council. This leads to unique use of Colin that feels distinctly different from the Baby Colin shenanigans that took over season four. Colin’s energy vampire antics also lead to an exceptional sequence where he’s put on trial by the grander energy vampire bureau. This interlude includes truly sublime casting that’s made up of some of the wettest blankets in comedy.
The core cast’s chemistry remains effortless, but it’s encouraging to see relationships further evolve through fresh pairings. This season gets a lot of mileage out of Guillermo and Laszlo’s interactions, as well as Colin- and Nadja-driven stories. No combination of characters in What We Do in the Shadows is a disappointment. However, the series prides itself in its experiments to see what unexplored dynamics might work. This season even brings back some familiar faces who haven’t been seen in years, but to great effect and in a manner that feels justified. All of the episodes’ scripts are as sharp as ever, but Marika Sawyer and Paul Simms really deliver standout work. The dialogue never feels lazy even if certain storylines don’t necessarily pop or feel derivative of the past.
What We Do in the Shadows remains deeply comical, but this season also digs into thought-provoking and emotional conflicts for the cast. The inherent loneliness of these characters has been baked into the series from the start, but these new episodes reflect upon some heavy betrayals–particularly when it comes to Guillermo and Nandor–that explores imposter syndrome and a paranormal peer pressure that’s snuck up on Guillermo all series. It’s really smart to transform Guillermo’s journey to become a vampire into a coming of age narrative where he better understands himself and his body. Some of these developments do seem to come at the expense of seasons’ worth of vampire hunter character building. However, this feels like the right obstacle for Guillermo to overcome before he’s finally able to embrace a new life as his best self.
The ambivalence behind having everything at one’s disposal also triggers some compelling introspective material this season from Kristen Schaal’s The Guide, who experiences her own mid-afterlife crisis, so to speak. It’s funny that so much of this season involves The Guide’s efforts to indoctrinate herself in the vampires’ clique and become their official fifth member, but Anthony Atamanuik’s Sean becomes much more of a natural supporting player this season without even trying. This season leans on Sean a lot more, which pays off and finds greater value in this odd relationship. If anything, this season proves that everyone is just waiting for their moment to shine.
Five seasons in, What We Do in the Shadows proves that it still has lots of life coursing through its veins and plenty more to say. This is encouraging considering that a sixth season has already been guaranteed. It’s entirely possible that this vampire comedy will remain this sharp after six seasons, but it’s likely time for What We Do in the Shadows to begin to consider its eternal twilight before it finally feels ancient. What We Do in the Shadows has all of the ingredients to be an all-time comedy classic thanks to consistent storytelling and committed performances. Here’s hoping that it doesn’t stay out too late and burn up in the harsh light of day.
Editor’s Note: This review is based on the first four episodes of Season 5.
‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Season 5 premieres July 13th on FX with back-to-back episodes, and next day airing on Hulu.
Reviews
‘The King Tide’: An Island Town Rots with Moral Decay in Canadian Folk Horror Fable [Review]
The opening scenes of director Christian Sparkes’ The King Tide set an ominous tone: a powerful storm takes down the power lines of a small island town as a pregnant woman loses her child while her dementia-suffering mother sits nearby. In the morning, as the town takes stock of the damage and the power is restored, a surprising discovery is found in an overturned boat in the harbour: a baby girl…with the ability to heal.
Writers Albert Shin and William Woods, working from a story by Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby, treat the story as something of a morality tale mixed with a fable. Following the cold open, the action jumps ahead 10 years at a point when the unnamed island (the film was shot in Newfoundland, Canada) is thriving. The fishing is bountiful, the islanders are self-sufficient and have cut ties with the mainland, and most everyone is happy.
As characters are prone to saying, it’s all thanks to Isla (Alix West Lefler), the miracle baby who has grown up worshipped by the islanders. While Mayor Bobby Bentham (Clayne Crawford) and his wife Grace (Lara Jean Chorostecki) endeavor to raise Isla like any other little girl, the reality is that the island’s entire ecosystem revolves around her miraculous powers. It is only because of Isla that they survive; every aspect of their lives – from medicine to food – relies on her.
Each day the citizens line up for their allotted time with the young girl – be it to stave off breast cancer, like Charlotte (Kathryn Greenwood), or recover from another night of heavy drinking like former doctor, Beau (Aden Young). There’s even a predetermined schedule for when she will go out on the boats and use her power to lure fish into the nets.
One fateful day, Bobby succumbs to peer pressure and alters Isla’s schedule at the last minute to accompany cod fishermen Marlon (Michael Greyeyes) and Dillon (Ryan McDonald). A childish game with fatal consequences is played, but with Isla indisposed, a young boy, who would have otherwise been fine, dies. And while the rest of the community grieves, it is Isla who is completely shaken and, unexpectedly, loses her powers.
Suddenly the entire balance of the island is thrown off. Folks like Grace’s mother, Faye (Frances Fisher), who relied on Isla to keep her dementia at bay, suddenly reckon with mortality, while the food security of the town is called into question. Faye’s late-night “support group” meetings take on an urgent and secretive tone and the townspeople claim ownership of Isla’s time despite Bobby and Beau’s protests that she needs rest to recover from her trauma.
Like the best thrillers, the politics and personalities within the community come into play as morals are compromised and the good of individuals vs the collective is played out in increasingly desperate situations. The King Tide excels because it is interested in exploring the competing motivations of the townspeople, while also resolutely refusing to paint anyone as inherently good or bad. These are desperate people, determined to remain independent and free from outside interference, while protecting their trapped-in-amber way of life.
These developments work because there’s a humanity to the characters and The King Tide wisely relies heavily on its deep bench castoff character actors to drive the conflict. Crawford is the de facto protagonist of the ensemble and he’s also the most straightforward character: Bobby is a good man and a loving father, but he’s no white knight. At several points in the film, his willingness to acquiesce to the demands of the community and retain his power causes events to spiral further out of control.
Even more fascinating are Grace and Faye, two commanding women whose capacity for maternal love is matched – or eclipsed – by their own self-interests. A mid-film discovery about Isla’s power reframes Grace’s priorities, ultimately pitting her against her husband. As a result, Grace is incredibly compelling and frustrating (in a good way) and Chorostecki, who has done great genre work on both Hannibal to Chucky, plays the moral ambiguity exactly right. Grace is a fascinating and flawed human character in a film filled with them.
The same goes for Fisher, who deftly balances Faye’s grandmotherly love for Isla with the needs of the community and, by extension, her own health demands. In the hands of a lesser performer, it would be easy to hate Faye for her actions, but Fisher’s performance perfectly captures the fierce determination and fear that drives the island’s matriarch.
Finally, there’s Aden Young, The King Tide’s secret weapon. The ten-year jump reveals that Beau has undergone the most significant transformation: while everyone else has benefitted from Isla’s powers, her presence has eliminated the need for a doctor. With the clinic effectively shuttered, Beau has become an alcoholic; a shell of his former self with no purpose.
Like Bobby, Beau is the easiest character to root for because of his selfless desire to protect Isla, but Young (renowned for his work with Crawford on Rectify) unlocks the character’s tragic pathos and, in the process, becomes the film’s emotional anchor.
Framing the moral decline of the islanders and anticipating the unexpectedly devastating climax is the natural beauty of Newfoundland. As shot by cinematographer Mike McLaughlin, there’s a steely beauty to the geography, resplendent with rocky cliffs, pounding surf, and gusty bluffs that reinforce the islanders’ isolation.
There’s a fierce pride in their struggle to survive independently, evident in the simple lodgings and the antiquated alarm bell that is rung whenever fishing ships from the mainland stray too close. It’s a chilly, atmospheric calling card for one of the most picturesque provinces in Canada, but it is a perfect complement for the folk horror narrative.
Armed with serene, beautiful cinematography, murky moral developments, and a deep bench of talented character actors, The King Tide is a quiet gem that demands to be seen. It’s one of the year’s best genre films.
The King Tide is in theaters April 26, 2024.
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