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

When Darren is about to drink Rebecca's blood, she pulls her shirt down and there is a strap still left on her shoulder. When the shot switches to her back, the strap is gone, and upon snapping back to her front, it is there again.

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Quotes

Darren Shan: Just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean I'm bloodthirsty. It's not about what you are. It's about who you are.

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Connections

Featured in Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant - Tour du Freak (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

Funny and Dark

I just saw this movie at Fantastic Fest in Austin. I really loved it. Unlike the Potter movies, it succeeds in being dark without taking itself too seriously. The characters were rich, the acting superb, and the pace was neither frantic nor plodding, but just right. John C. Reilly was excellent -- he had a very powerful presence that I'd not really noticed before.

I haven't read the books, but the actors said the books' author also loved the movie. I realize movies rarely live up to readers' ideals, but this movie really stood on its own merits. There was a lot of dark/sarcastic humor (one-liners, mostly) in the movie that I understand wasn't in the books -- and it really worked. Unlike the Harry Potter books, I'm anxious to read these due to my appreciation of the movie.