The Beauty of the Monster Mash-Up

This Horror Genre Mockumentary Mash Up Delivers Everytime

I'm back from Sultry Singapore and Wonderous Bali. I'm no longer finding sand in interesting places, nor am I getting to see monkeys in the wild. Oh well, if I had to return home, at least it was for the most wonderful time of the year!

No, not the winter holidays you lovers of tinsel and turkey. It's the season for horror fanatics! Join us as we revel in our obsession of the dark, grim and hopeless without being humbug.

One of the many things I love about the horror genre is that it's so ripe for a mashup—a collision of different genres to create a fresh storytelling vehicle.

I've enjoyed Christopher Guest's classic mockumentaries Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman. But then What We Do in the Shadows (WWDITS) came into my life via Hulu. The movie version was so wonderful that I was nervous about the series adaptation. Nothing is worse than a beloved concept mangled in execution. Thankfully, the creators understood the assignment.

As horror storytellers, our challenge is to find new ways to twist conventions (i.e., tropes) to surprise our readers. Let's take a look at the tropes used in this series.

What We Do in the Shadows Season One (2019) Hulu

Synopsis:

Inside a gothic house (forced proximity, workplace) in present-day Staten Island, live four vampires (age difference, fish out of water, time travel) and their familiar (domestic servant), Guillermo. They are the subject of a documentary film crew, recording their undead lives. Nandoor, the oldest vampire, is a former Turkish Sultan, decorated general, and de facto head of the house (family, military, protector, royalty, secrets, scars, stalker). The other two vampires are a married couple, Lazlo (family, playboy, secrets, victim) and his wife, Nadia (family, secrets, stalker). Their fourth roommate, Collin Robinson (loner), is an energy vampire and unaffected by daylight (loner). Guillermo (best friend, domestic servant, secrets) maintains the house and vampire livelihood.

Nadia finds her reincarnated lover (forbidden love), Jeff, only to find her heroic lover is now a timid parking garage attendant (amnesia, hidden identity, opposites attract, secrets). When he finally regains his memory with Nadia's help (reunion), Lazlo (jealousy, stalker, violence) announces he has been busy chasing him (revenge, time travel) and decapitating him (scars, ticking time bomb, victim) for many lifetimes (love triangle, protector, unrequited love, violence). Jeff accidentally kills himself (red herring, violence), leaving his ghost (antagonist) to haunt Nadia's indifference.[CC1]

All the vampires except Collin Robinson, have to contend with their European boss, The Baron, coming to stay with them (road trip). He expects they are ruling the New World (antagonist, age difference, family, fling, forced proximity, politics, red herring). The vampires struggle to maintain the con that they are more potent than they are (ticking time bomb). They visit a powerful vampire (antagonist) in NYC who disdains the vampires but is willing to help them in exchange for Lazlo's cursed hat (MacGuffin). Accidentally, the vampire and all his followers die after he dons the hat (victims, violence).

Nadia and Lazlo's ongoing search for a familiar end with the one they like becoming a zombie. Only Guillermo notices the familiar's change, or it fakes carrying out any duties (mistaken identity, secrets).

Guillermo is waiting (tortured hero) to become a vampire (ugly duckling, unrequited love). As a domestic servant, he has to kidnap new virgin victims for the vampires. Nadia (age difference, mistaken identity) decides to turn one of those potential victims, a bullied young woman (woman in peril), into a vampire.

Meanwhile, Lazlo befriends his football-loving human neighbor (best friend) but accidentally reduces his brain to mush by overdoing his amnesia treatment. Energy vampire Collin Robinson is surprised to find himself with a manipulative, needy girlfriend (family) from his workplace that both repels and excites him. Tired of the house's toxic masculinity, Nadia conjures up her ghost as a company and enchants her into doll form for companionship (twin).

Lazlo tries to help his amnesic neighbor but is caught by animal control in bat form (forced proximity, stranded).

Lonely Nandoor wants to meet one of his descendants (family, quest) so Guillermo does a DNA test on him (red herring). Guillermo's DNA results shock him; he's descended from the Van Helsing family (hidden identity, secret heir, protector, secret, ugly duckling). In light of this reveal, the accidental death of The Baron by Guillermo (protector)a short time before seems less random. The Vampiric council blames the three house vampires for The Baron's death (mistaken identity, politics). They are sentenced to die at sunrise. Guillermo and Collin Robinson save them (redemption, return to hometown).

We can see that the WWDIS is packed with tropes, but the story is uniquely its own.

What can we learn from WWDIS that applies to our storytelling creating mash-ups?

1). Characters Drive the Story

First, it's always the characters who root us in the story. In an interview, Stephen Colbert said he liked to "play characters who think well of themselves." Our vampires are hopelessly incompetent, but that doesn't stop them from their pursuits. Nada pines for her reincarnated lover, while the vampire collective wants to impress their visiting mentor. Only Guillermo, their long-suffering house manager, is competent and longs to become a vampire.

2). Goal, Motivation and Conflict Drives the Plot

Each character has a goal and, most importantly, faces conflict, which is key to these episodic plots. The more the goal and the conflict are in direct opposition, the better the conflict. For example, the more the vampires want to impress their mentor with their importance, their lack of accomplishments radiates.

For example, when their beloved Baron Vampires asks how much of Staten Island they have turned to vampires in over a hundred years, their tally is about a block and a half. They try to hide their failings by throwing a party with decorations for the Baron in their attic.

3). Worldbuilding is the Secret Sauce

Concerning parties, Guillermo taking Nandoor shopping for decorations in a grocery store is an excellent example of the WWDIS worldbuildings. The juxtaposition of the fish out of water trope with the modern world and the fantasy supernatural world makes this series. Exploring the gaps between these spaces is part of the charm of this series.

In summary, as I often quote from Blake Snyder's Save the Cat: Give me the same, only different! Thankfully for us, WWWIS does just that.

Interested in a deeper dive into tropes? Check out my Trope Thesaurus Five Book series available on Amazon and wide.

What’s your favorite horror mash-up? What do love about it? Please share!