Two friends, while cutting school are lured to a freak show by a mysterious green flyer. They are both entranced by the oddities that they see there, and it is here that we discover that Darren Shan (Chris Massoglia) has a thing about spiders and that his best friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson) is infatuated with vampires. Steve is convinced that the performer Larten Crepsley (John C. Riley) is a vampire, but Darren is more taken with his dancing spider. When Darren sneaks into Crepsley’s dressing room to get a closer look, he overhears a conversation that he shouldn’t have and gets drawn into the world of vampires and circus freaks. When Steve is bitten by the poisonous spider, Darren agrees to be the vampire’s assistant in exchange for the antidote to save his best friend’s life.
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant is a fun, campy, entertaining film. But the pace is so frantic and choppy that I couldn’t help feeling left behind. This movie covers the first three books of a twelve book series and there is so much ground to cover that I felt like the film was flitting as fast as the vampires were. There is a whole new mythology here to learn, these vampires have there own rules and are not bound by the same limitations as traditional vampires. I had trouble keeping up with the multiple characters and the plot points, but any teenager who has read the books should have no trouble at all.
I did enjoy a lot of the film, but I don’t think I will embrace it as much as a teenager would. Not being the target audience for this film, I did not appreciate the MTV short attention span style of editing and story telling. But I was engaged and intrigued by the interesting characters. If they do another film, I hope they will let us learn more about the circus family and their brotherhood. There’s something appealing about bearded ladies, monkey girls, reptilian boys and other various oddities. And then there’s the whole vampire war and the mysterious Mr. Tiny. The two friends share a destiny and fate has pulled them apart and set them on opposite sides. Only in a sequel will we learn what becomes of them. Or if you are impatient, read the books.
Rating: Second Run A campy vampire tale
About Me
- Melanie Wilson
- My Reviewer's Philosophy: I believe that every film has its audience. One man’s Citizen Kane is another man’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre. My purpose is to help you spend your entertainment dollars wisely. A bad review never kept me from going to a film I wanted to see, but a good review will sometimes get me to a film I never considered. As a movie lover I want you to go to the movies. When more people go to the movies, the more movies get made. But, I also believe that if you enjoy the films you see, you naturally will be inclined to go more often. So join me in supporting our film industry by going to a movie today. Hopefully I can steer you towards a good one. See you at the movies. Melanie Wilson
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