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

Director:

Paul Weitz

Writers (WGA):

Paul Weitz (screenplay) and
Brian Helgeland (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 October 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Meet Darren. He's sixteen going on immortal.

Plot:

A young boy named 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. |

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Punctuation In Title | Wolfman | Stew | Apostrophe In Title

Cast

John C. Reilly	...	Larten Crepsley
Josh Hutcherson	...	Steve
Chris Massoglia	...	Darren Shan
Jessica Carlson	...	Rebecca
Michael Cerveris	...	Mr. Tiny
Ray Stevenson	...	Murlaugh
Patrick Fugit	...	Evra the Snake Boy
Daniel Newman	...	Pete
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

Also Known As:

Circus of the Freak (International: English title) (literal title)
Cirque du Freak (USA) (working title)
История одного вампира (Russia) [ru]
Aprendiz de Vampiro (Venezuela) [es]
Circo dos Horrores: O Assistente do Vampiro (Portugal) [pt]
Cirque du Freak - Mitternachtszirkus (Germany) [de]
Cirque du Freak - O Aprendiz de Vampiro (Brazil) [pt]
Cirque du Freak: El aprendiz de vampiro (Mexico) [es]
Darren Shan (Japan: English title) [en]
Il circo degli orrrori (Italy) [it]
Kesköine tsirkus - Vampiiri abiline (Estonia) (working title) [et]
Rémségek cirkusza (Hungary) [hu]
Skrekkens sirkus (Norway) [no]
Tsirko teraton: O voithos tou vampir (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

USA:109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45128) | Ireland:12A | UK:12A | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Mexico:B | Japan:G

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

A portion of the film was shot in Studio 28 at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. It is the oldest known sound stage in the history of the studio.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Quotes:

Evra the Snake Boy: [Embarrassed after shaking Darren's hand and leaving some skin behind] Sorry about that, shedding. Itches like crazy.
Darren Shan: [slightly disturbed] ... right...
Evra the Snake Boy: [scratches head sheepishly] Better go wash that, before you get pink eye...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Jay Leno Show: (#1.22)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Something Is Not Right with Me

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.