Sidewalks On The Corner

Based on the first three books of "The Saga of Darren Shan" by author Darren Shan, John C. Reilly, Ken Watanabe, Josh Hutcherson, Willem Dafoe and Salma Hayek are among the cast bringing Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant to the big screen.

Follow up:

CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE’S ASSISTANT
Cast: John C. Reilly, Ken Watanabe, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Massoglia, Ray Stevenson, Patrick Fugit, Orlando Jones, with Willem Dafoe and Salma Hayek
Directed by: Paul Weitz
www.thevampiresassistant.net

Studio Synopsis:
Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, is a fantasy-adventure about a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares.

16-year-old Darren (Chris Massoglia) was like most kids in his suburban neighborhood. He hung out with his best friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson), got decent grades and usually stayed out of trouble. But when he and his buddy stumble upon a traveling freak show, things begin to change inside Darren. That’s the exact moment when a vampire named Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly) turns him into something, well, bloodthirsty.

Newly undead, he joins the Cirque Du Freak, a touring sideshow filled with monstrous creatures from a snakeboy and a wolfman to a bearded lady (Salma Hayek) and a gigantic barker (Ken Watanabe). As Darren flexes his newfound powers in this dark world, he becomes a treasured pawn between the vampires and their deadlier counterparts. And while trying to survive, one boy will struggle to keep their brewing war from devouring what’s left of his humanity.

(L to R) Evra the Snake Boy (PATRICK FUGIT), Darren (CHRIS MASSOGLIA) and Rebecca (JESSICA CARLSON) in "Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant".
Photo Credit: David Lee / Universal Pictures
Copyright: © 2009 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

J.P.'s Take:
Halloween is just around the corner, and “Cirque Du Freak” is a dark little adventure just in time for the Witching Hour. Based on the novels written by Darren Shan (real name Darren O'Shaughnessy Tanner), the books follow the character of the same name in a series of spin-offs, including this film.

“Cirque Du Freak” is mainly aimed at the pre-teen audience ages 11 to 13. The dark, morbid atmosphere is just slightly leaning on the edge of gruesome. Not so much so that it gives kids nightmares, but enough to be considered a minor creeper. The unfortunate thing about “Cirque” is it's a wanna-be vampire movie. It's definitely a campier version of films like “Twilight,” with slightly cheesy, mellow dramatic acting. The vampires, if you can call them that, are hardly intimidating. Nor are they as authentic as say ... Dracula. The story is entertaining enough to keep you watching, although it's not quite as sophisticated as what you may find in the “Harry Potter” series. I was impressed with the look and feel of the film. The sets and backdrops look like something out of a Tim Burton movie. The performances were quirky and fun.

My favorite moment of the movie is during the scene where Steve and Darren sneak out to an abandoned theater to watch the freak show. What they find is a sinister underworld of two warring vampire factions. On the surface, “Cirque” feels like an enthralling adventure, yet it falls victim to less intricate plot lines.

I imagine the filmmakers were hard pressed to sum up the many novels of Darren Shan into this one movie. So I'm assuming this is not the last we'll see of the franchise. Over all I took “The Vampire's Assistant” as a horror flick that the whole family could watch together. Personally, it's not something I would spend big bucks to see. I wouldn't recommend it for children under maybe 10 or 11, because it's a little morbid. If you're unsure about taking your kids to the theater to see this, I would wait until it hits Netfilx.

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J.P. Langston is a member of "Sidewalks Entertainment" team primarily as a videographer. He loves movies, especially sci-fi horror and action comedies. Some of his favorite films include "Blade Runner" "The Matrix Trilogy," The (original) "Star Wars," "Equilibrium," "Serenity," "Kill Bill Vols 1 and 2," "Appleseed," "Unbreakable" and "Sin City." He has a large DVD collection, which is still growing. Since reviewing films for "Sidewalks," he has been expanding his palette for all types of films.