Hounds of the Underworld
by Dan Rabarts and Lee Murray (Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2017)
An understated but engrossing SF murder mystery set in rundown near-future New Zealand. What starts as a character study—pairing up and alternating between Penny, a straight-laced scientific consultant, and Matiu, her dissident brother, both of Chinese-Maori descent—blossoms into supernatural horror.
Footrot Flats, Gallery 1
by Murray Ball (Hachette Livre NZ, 2005)
Just as Charles M. Schulz gave the world Charlie Brown and Snoopy, so too did New Zealand artist Murray Ball give us grouchy farmer Wal Footrot and his imaginative Dog – the lesser known of the comic strip duos but no less charismatic!
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
dir. Taika Waititi (2016)
A distinct, refreshingly understated vein of Kiwi humour runs through this New Zealand coming of age (at all ages) film. Sam Neil and newcomer Julian Dennison excel, playing the withdrawn farmer and troubled foster child who unwittingly set off an international manhunt.
What we do in the Shadows
dir. Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi (2014)
Three flat-sharing vampires in modern-day Wellington face upheaval to their already incongruous lives when one of their victims is accidentally turned and joins the group. This New Zealand comedy has its Conchords-esque moments but the mockumentary format feels more limiting than enhancing.
Flight of the Conchords, Season 1
(HBO, 2007)
Centred around the eponymous New Zealand comedy duo’s fictionalised (non-)attempts to crack New York’s music scene, Flight of the Conchords evoked The Goodies (but with deadpan drollery), or Spinal Tap (with real musicians), quickly earning cult status… if only in real life.