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:

$14,046,595

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$39,753,957

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

The license plates of the purple car that drops the Cirque du Freak flyer use the European Union pattern for Germany: D for Deutschland (Germany in German) and a circle of twelve stars (European Union symbol).

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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

Larten Crepsley: What did Mr. Tiny want?
Darren Shan: Mr. Tiny?
Larten Crepsley: The fat man in the limousine!
Darren Shan: I don't know. Something about, uh, souls and, uh, and destiny. And he knew where I lived.
Larten Crepsley: Looks like you're in deep shit, my larcenous friend. Mr. Tiny doesn't just take a random interest in people - and the people he does take an interest in wind up dead... or worse.
Darren Shan: What's worse than dead?
Larten Crepsley: Oh... lots of things.

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Connections

Featured in Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant - Guide to Becoming a Vampire (2010)

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Soundtracks

Chelsea Dagger
Written by Jon Fratelli (as John Lawler)
Performed by The Fratellis
Courtesy of Universal - Island Records Ltd.
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Brought a Surprising Smile to My Face

This movie was actually very entertaining. I didn't expect much going in but I actually liked the story. While I thought it was going to be a Twilight ripoff, I think it actually made in fun of Twilight a little bit--which made for great fun. The acting was better than expected. I was especially surprised by John C. Reilly. I absolutely loved his character! I agree with others when I say that it's actually refreshing to see him in a more serious role. The movie was interesting, unique, caring, and humorous. I definitely recommend seeing the movie. I think it's going to be a great series. I look forward to seeing the next movie.