Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

Super Marcey's Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant Review

Rating: 2.5/5

What do you get when you have a well  cast film, great visuals and a plot that goes no where? This film!  Cirque du Freak is quite a boring film, nothing happens for the longest  time. The beginning has a bit going on and then the end kind of does but  the huge inbetween is uneventful and a snoozefest. Which is quite a  shame because this had some much potential to be a fun and exciting  film. I haven’t read the book that this is based on, and I hope it is  more exciting than this. The film is about two friends Steve and Darren,  they happen to come across a circus full of weird and wonderful things.  Eventually this leads to Darren having to join the circus and become a  vampire, but this does not sit well with Steve.

On to the good stuff, this film has a  great cast and they all for the most part do a decent job with the  material. The stand out is easily John C. Reilly as Larten Crepsley the  vampire. His lady (the bearded lady that is) is played by a gorgeous  Salma Hayek, a couple that shouldn’t work but it does. You can see these  two had a lot of fun with their roles, and they do ham it up a bit,  Reilly more so but he is just so entertaining. Josh Hutcherson plays  Steve and he is the better of the two boys, not to say that Chris  Massoglia isn’t good but he struggles to make his role interesting. Not  completely his fault, the script is pretty uneventful. Patrick Fugit as  the Snake Boy was a bit weird at first, but I dug him. The visuals  looked amazing for the most part, some of the circus act stuff was  really awesome. They have a bunch of weird ‘freaks’ and they made them  look weird and wonderful all at the same time. The costume design was  great too, I loved the costumes Salma had to wear, just stunning.

On to the bad stuff, as I said this is  so uneventful, it feels like it takes so long to actually get where it  is going. Some of the plot points about other vampires is a bit  confusing with the way it is explained and then it doesn’t go anywhere.  The pacing is all off, at times it wants to speed through and then slow  down. It is easily 25 minutes too long, a lot could have been cut out  that had nothing to do with the main plot. I have to wonder if they  thought about structure at all when planning this film out. I really  don’t like it when a film makes me look at the clock every 5 minutes and  I found myself doing this through most of the film. Sitting there  waiting for something to happen is not very entertaining especially when  it doesn’t exactly pay off. I really can’t recommend this film, or  check it out for the performance by Reilly and check out the visuals at  the circus and the costumes and fast forward the rest of it.

First published at SuperMarcey.com

Recommendations: Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009), Milk, Hurt Locker, The (Kathryn Bigelow, 2009)

Last updated: 2010-08-04 00:00:14 by SuperMarcey

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

Ever since Harry Potter first broke every record possible, the publishing and movie industries have been searching desperately for their next Hogwarts-like kids' hit.

The Twilight series almost seemed up to the task until the flop of New Moon, while Hollywood's hopes appear to be pinned on Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, this year's contender for the Most Unwieldy Title Oscar.

For a while it must have seemed that Darren Shan's Cirque Du Freak series could have been a contender too - but this woeful adaptation quickly puts an end to that.

It's easy to see how the producers of Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant might have pinned their hopes on the unusual horror saga, and from time to time the quality of the source material still manages to shine through the cracks. There's plenty of darkly comic invention in Darren Shan's coming-of-age tale despite its wholesale plundering by American Pie director Paul Weitz, but you can't help feeling that he should have stuck to straightforward comedy.

As for the story itself, we're all familiar with this particular formula - it existed long before Harry Potter made it popular, and every other kids movie of the last few years sticks to it like it's law. A disaffected teenager, Darren (Chris Massoglia), leaves his boring life behind and enters a world of magic and mystery...

Sound at all familiar?

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant at least introduces some new elements into the mix, although the handling is often clumsy. It's Darren's best friend Steve who has the obsession with vampires, and when the pair attend a secret midnight circus called the Cirque Du Freak, Steve recognises one of the participants as well-documented bloodsucker Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly). Steve asks Crepsley to turn him into a vampire, but Crepsley declines - meanwhile Darren steals Crepsley's pet spider, ensuring that their fates remain entwined.

If you still think this sounds fairly vanilla, then bear in mind that these vampires don't kill their victims: instead they just stun them while they feed, leaving them unharmed. In fact they're waging a cold war against a faction known as the vampaneze, led by rabid tooth-filer Murlough (Ray Stevenson), who believe in the old fashioned trinity of torture, murder and bloodletting.

Throw in the curiously impartial puppetmaster Mr. Tiny (Michael Cerveris), and it's clear that this is a story constructed on more than simple cliches.

Unfortunately Weitz isn't the man to turn them into a screen success, however, and the end result is a messy blend of horror, comedy and teen drama that can't seem to decide exactly who its audience is. Stevenson and Cerveris are as sinister and creepy as you'd expect, but John C. Reilly is so hopelessly miscast as Crepsley that you'll find yourself struggling to work out whether this is supposed to be a Walk Hard-style parody.

Even Willem Dafoe - a man who was surely born to play vampires - looks more like a camp pedophile than the bloodsucking undead.

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant still manages a few moments of true creep-out charm, but all too often it plays like The Lost Boys meets Home Alone, and the misguided voiceover only serves to underline its many problems. If you're intrigued by its world of feuding vampires then by all means search out Darren Shan's books, but leave this toothless adaptation well alone.

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FILM REVIEW : Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009)

We've had a vampire overload lately. In fact, I reported on a lovely article concerning the vampire overload (that article can be seen here). As a result of this overload, somebody at Universal figured it'd be a great idea to catapult a film based on the Cirque du Freak young adult book series, which is - you guessed it - based on vampires. There was probably a floating idea of making it into a film series. Unfortunately for Universal, the film flopped at the box office: from a $40 million budget, the film has grossed less than $7 million domestically as of this writing... and as I've read, they're still planning on making a sequel. It's sad to see this gross less than Saw VI on its opening weekend, because this is much better. In fact, it's not bad at all.

We follow Darren Shan (Chris Massoglia), a clean-cut, good-grade-making upstanding teen... who for some reasons has a curious fascination with spiders. His best friend is Steve Leonard (Josh Hutcherson), who is basically your average teen troublemaker... oh yeah: and he's obsessed with vampires. The two go to a one-night "freak-show" called Cirque du Freak. The show includes a bearded lady (Salma Hayek), a woman who can regrow her appendages (Jane Krakowski), and an illusionist (John C. Reilly). Steve recognizes the illusionist as Larten Crepsley, a vampire from one of his vampire books... because, remember: ... he happens to be obsessed with vampires. Due to being bit by Crepsley's spider, Steve is in critical condition. Darren, being the good friend that he is, seeks Crepsley's help. He makes a deal, which basically reads as "turn into a vampire to save your friend." As a decision that should surprise no one, Darren accepts the exchange and becomes a vampire. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant accounts for Darren as he adapts to his newfound ordeals.

This is director Paul Weitz's first foray into anything other than comedy. He is perhaps best known for directing the teen classic American Pie. To be fair and to the point, he doesn't do a bad job at all. For the sake of pure honesty, it's hard to critique his directing because it doesn't seem like he did much with the material. It seems that he simply let it flow. I'd commend him on that, as some directors try way too hard with film making (Twilight immediately comes to question), but at the same time, I feel he could have made a slightly better effort.

The writing was alright I guess. Some of it is pretty cliched, but it also works on a level of humor and adventure.

Now we get to what is probably the most popular topic with this film: John C. Reilly. I'm a huge fan of the man, but I'm not gonna sugarcoat this: he was seemingly miscast and he cannot bring in huge box office numbers. His casting as a tough vampire does seem odd at first glance. He's essentially made his career out of portraying seemingly simple-minded characters. He earned Best Supporting Actor nomination for his fantastic portrayal of Amos Hart in Chicago. Case and point: a weak-minded character!

And to comment on his box office. 2007's Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story was perhaps the first time that Reilly was billed as the main star. Even with strong reviews, the film only scored about $20 million out of a $35 million budget. Why? It's simple logic: JOHN C. REILLY CANNOT CARRY A FILM TO BOX OFFICE SUCCESS!!! Well, one could argue the case of last year's Step Brothers, which made about three times its $65 million budget. Two words two refute that argument. Will and Ferrell.

With all that being said... John C. Reilly is shockingly good. Despite being horribly miscast, he is able to work against that with a toughness factor that I would have NEVER expected from him. I must commend the man on his work. Still, I have mixed feelings about this performance, as someone else could have pulled off the role better.

Chris Massoglia was great in his role. Even though he never gets to do much else other than follow stereotypical teen fare in his work, Massoglia takes a paper thin role and is able to give it some level of depth. Anyone who can give this role depth is good. Also effective is Josh Hutcherson as his best. I hope he gets a big break someday.

To be honest... it's not the best film out there. That being said, there's nothing that's really all that dreadful about it either. It's actually a little fun. A little enjoyable, even. But I can't recommend it.

Not recommended, but not bad either

Rating: 4.5 out of 10 stars (2.5 out of 5 stars)

 Photo Courtesy: Shockya

Julian Stark (pen name)<br />
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Founder/Editor: Movies and Other Things<br />
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http://julianstark-moviesandotherthings.blogspot.com

Last updated: 2010-04-09 23:39:13 by user07

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant - Surprisingly Decent

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (2009)
Starring: John C.  Reilly, John Hutcherson
Directed by: Paul Weitz
Obviously it goes without saying, that 2009 was the year of the  vampire.  And just when you thought you have seen every vampire movie  possible that year… here comes a somewhat comedic looking vampire movie,  Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant… which is about two High  School buddies, one who is straight laced and well behaved, and the  other who comes from a broken home, and is constantly in trouble.  In  need of a little mystery and intrigue, they get a flyer for a traveling  freak show and go see what it’s all about.  Through a series of curious  accidents, our hero Darren… ends up becoming “Half” vampire, in order to  save his best friend. 
So, before I go any further, I would like to say that this movie,  which is based on a series of books for Young Adults… has strayed SO far  off the path of Vampire lore, that it’s actually pretty acceptable.  No  vampires were sparkling in this movie… but, the idea of becoming “half”  vampire, is somewhat silly.  One of the advantages to becoming half  vampire, is that you can go out during the daytime. 
Also, there is a war going on between the Vampires, and the Vampanese  (I’m assuming I’m spelling that right)… the difference being that the  Vampanese have a thirst for flesh, as well as blood, and they like to  kill who ever they drink from, and with pleasure.  Where as the  Vampires, as explained by John C. Reilly… just sedate their vampires,  make a small incision, and take a little sip. 
The vampire lore in this movie, is meant to be somewhat comical… as  the whole movie has a dark macabre style of sillyness… something that is  right up my alley.  The “freaks” in the Cirque du Freak somewhat  disappointed me… because they were imaginary, mythical freaks… although  somewhat based on the circus sideshow glory days.  For example, Jane  Krasinski plays a freak who can regenerate her fingers, hands, and  arms.  And one freak has a… well freakishly elongated head.  I didn’t  however have a problem with these “freaks” I just wish that they were  more authentic to circus sideshows, or something out of the Todd  Browning movie, Freaks.  But, if they can skew vampire lore, then I  suppose they can skew the definition of what a “freak” is.  If you are  willing to suspend your disbelief on what is “accurate” then it will be  easy to get passed the fictional fiction.   Afterall, if you have an  imagination, you can portray Vampries, Freaks or even Zombies however  you want.
From what I understand, this movie got pretty bad reviews, and didn’t  make a whole lot of money in the theatre… I didn’t get to see it until  it was available to rent, and was surprisingly pleased with the movie.   By the time it was over, I wanted to see more… learn more, and I just  wanted the story to continue.  Here’s hoping for a sequel.
So, Rent, Buy or Never Again… I’d like to say buy, but I don’t  necessarily think it will be essential to own this movie.  But I could  see myself renting it some time again.

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Christian Kocinski<br />
Filmmaker.Animator.Photographer<br />
www.ChristianKocinski.com<br />
www.IncoherentAstronomy.com<br />
www.SweetmintTheatre.com<br />
www.Cine-Rama.com

Good film, Bad adaptation

I went to see this film expecting a dark teen vampire tale. I was surprised that it was very funny, at first i thought John Reily was badly chosen to play Crepsly but he made him a fun character. As a stand alone film for people who have not read the books it will be a good film. But for people like me who a fans of the books may think its not dark enough and a bit too as i say "disnified" for a lower age audience. I thought the cirque du freak scene was badly cut and badly sequenced and when Darren becomes half-vampire his slicked backed hair looked incredibly wrong. Apart from those few knick pickings an overall good film to watch.

Vincent Snavely

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

A friend of mine told me about the book on which this film is based on last  year. When I looked up some info on them, I saw that they were making a movie  about them down the road in New Orleans. Now that I’ve seen the movie, I think I  may just have to read the books.
This is not your typical vampire film. There are no scenes of blood and guts,  and you won’t see any overly emotional glittery vampires either. As a matter of  fact, this is more about the relationship between two former best friends, both  of whom just happened to have become vampires…well, a vampire and a  vampaneze.
I like how the vampire lore takes a backseat to the story here. Other than  the basic “orientation” that Crepsley gives Darren, you don’t really hear too  much about the vampiricity.
John C. Reilly surprised me with this role. I’ve seen him in serious roles  before, such as Chicago, but he is not the first person I  would have chosen to play a vampire such as Larton Crepsley. Having said that,  he did a good job, and even brought a hint of comedy to it, although I belive  this character is more on the serous side.
Two choices for characters I didn’t quite understand and felt that they were  wasted, unless this becomes a franchise and they are used more in later  installments, were Salma Hayek and Orlando Jones as Madame Truska and Alexander  Ribs, respectively. Salma, I can understand being used more of as eye candy,  especially, since many of her costumes were corsets that pushed up her already  ample bosom, but Orlando didn’t really make much sense since he didn’t really  provide any comic relief, but rather was just a character. The same could be  said for Jane Krakowski’s character.
I don’t know how close to the the actual book this films stayed, but it was a  pretty good story, in my opinion. I just wish they would have found a more  convincing Darren. Something about this kid reminds me of DJ Qualls. I’m not  gonna deny that it appears that Darren is supposed to be the nerdy type, and  this guy fits that bill, but his acting leaves something to be desired.
The effects aren’t too shabby. At first, when Crepsley would flit, the color  streak distracted me, but s he did it more, it made sense as it let the audience  know that he was flitting. It is especially necessary to when Darren and Steve  are fighting in the final scenes. 
In a film where freaks are the norm, makeup and special effects are  mandatory. I tink they did a good job with these effects in this picture, though  I wasn’t too crazy about the werewolf. He looked more like a bear. Good grief,  people, is it really that hard to tell the difference between a wolf and bear  these days? This is two films now that they haven’t really looked liked wolves  (the other being The Twilight Saga: New  Moon).
I think some people forget that this is meant to be more of a family friendly  vampie film. Not a horror flick, or one for overly hormonal tween girls who  think vampires walk around talking about their feelings and watching over them.  With that said, this is a welcome change from what we’ve seen in past films of  this ilk. I liked the mix of fantasy, comedy, and the hint of drama. The way the  film ends left me to believe that there will be more to come ,but nothing has  been announced as of today. I didn’t love this flick, but I did enjoy it, and  think you will, too.
4 out of 5 stars
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