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

Teenager Darren Shan meets a mysterious man at a freak show who turns out to be a vampire. After a series of events, Darren must leave his normal life and go on the road with the Cirque du Freak and become a vampire.

Director:

Paul Weitz

Writers:

Paul Weitz (screenplay), Brian Helgeland (screenplay)

Stars:

Chris Massoglia, John C. Reilly, Salma Hayek

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John C. Reilly	...	Crepsley
Josh Hutcherson	...	Steve
Chris Massoglia	...	Darren
Jessica Carlson	...	Rebecca
Michael Cerveris	...	Mr. Tiny
Ray Stevenson	...	Murlaugh
Patrick Fugit	...	Evra the Snake Boy
Morgan Saylor	...	Annie
Don McManus	...	Mr. Shan
Colleen Camp	...	Mrs. Shan
Ken Watanabe	...	Mr. Tall
Salma Hayek	...	Madame Truska
Orlando Jones	...	Alexander Ribs
Frankie Faison	...	Rhamus Twobellies
Willem Dafoe	...	Gavner Purl

Storyline

Teenager Darren Shan is an excellent student and the pride and joy of his perfect middle-class family, but his best friend is the reckless Steve. When they receive a flyer with an advertisement for a freak show, they sneak to the theater to see the attractions. The star attraction is a vampire called Larten Crepsley, who performs with a colorful yet very lethal spider. After the show, Darren tarries to see the spider and overhears Steve unsuccessfully trying to convince Larten to transform him into a vampire. Darren steals Larten's spider, which later bites Steve. In seeking an antidote from Larten, Darren accepts a deal to become his half-vampire assistant.

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Plot Keywords:

vampire versus vampire | based on young adult novel | circus freak | wolfman | freakshow | 

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Taglines:

Meet Darren. He's sixteen going on immortal.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense supernatural violence and action, disturbing images, thematic elements and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish French

Release Date:

23 October 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cirque du Freak

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,293,205, 25 October 2009, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$13,838,130, 20 November 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,Relativity Media,Donners' Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

What drew John C. Reilly to play Larten Crepsley was "the fact that it was a real person, that he wasn't some supernatural mystical being that can turn into a vampire bat. The powers weren't so extreme that it was just another thing altogether, that this guy was a person who was alive in the 1800s who was essentially about my age. If you account the slow aging, he is forty something years old" he said.

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Goofs

In the first show, just as Mr.Tall is introducing Madame Truska, as he says "...the exotic...", you can see more light passing through the tips of his unnaturally long fingers than the rest of his fingers, revealing that the actor is wearing hollow prosthetic to make the fingers appear longer.

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Quotes

Madame Truska: [in a trance] You're in danger, terrible danger. Your life and soul are in jeopardy.
Madame Truska: [snapping out of it] What did I say?
Larten Crepsley: Nothing. Something about the weather. Chance of thunderstorms tomorrow. Don't worry. I'll stay indoors.

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Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Despicable Me/The Kids Are All Right (2010)

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Soundtracks

Red Right Hand
Written by Mick Harvey, Nick Cave, Thomas Wydler
Performed by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Courtesy of Mute Records Ltd.
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Give it a Chance! Actually rather good!

Appreciating a wider variety of movies than most people, I rated this movie highly, and do certainly recommend it. The special effects were done very well, and yet were not overly used, as so many movies are these days. Character development was done well also, VERY nice to see in a time when more movie time and money is spent on "fluff" with no substance. The storyline developed rather smoothly and flowed well. Even people I know who normally have difficulty following a storyline, were able to keep track of things. (Again, the storyline in many movies are either confusing by being poorly edited/put together, or on the opposite end.... boringly simple.) I actually liked this movie a lot, as it made me interested in the books/stories, and want to see other "chapters", to see how the story proceeds and concludes. I do hope they follow with the sequel(s).

I do recommend this movie for adults & adolescents. (Probably a bit much for kids real young.)