diff --git a/pystache/parser.py b/pystache/parser.py
index c6a171f0..ae8fc0e7 100644
--- a/pystache/parser.py
+++ b/pystache/parser.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 
 
 END_OF_LINE_CHARACTERS = [u'\r', u'\n']
-NON_BLANK_RE = re.compile(ur'^(.)', re.M)
+NON_BLANK_RE = re.compile(u'^(.)', re.M)
 
 
 # TODO: add some unit tests for this.
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ def __repr__(self):
     def render(self, engine, context):
         template = engine.resolve_partial(self.key)
         # Indent before rendering.
-        template = re.sub(NON_BLANK_RE, self.indent + ur'\1', template)
+        template = re.sub(NON_BLANK_RE, self.indent + u'\\1', template)
 
         return engine.render(template, context)