29) CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT

Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Chris Massoglia, John C. Reilly, Josh Hutcherson, Ken Watanabe, Michael Cerveris, Ray Stevenson, Willem Dafoe, Jessica Carlson, Patrick Fugit, Salma Hayek, Orlando Jones
Year: 2009
Rating: PG-13

Based on the popular series of books by Darren O'Shaughnessy, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant at first comes off as a teen vampire flick; think The Lost Boys mixed with the tone of Something Wicked This Way Comes, then turn left and stir in a touch of comedy. That's the best way to describe it, other than to say that - happily - the film is just as appealing for adults, especially toward the end when things, indeed, turn a bit dark.

Chris Massoglia, in a breakthrough performance, stars as Darren Shan - a smalltown high school student who gets great grades and is the apple of his parents eyes. That is, when he's not hanging around his best buddy Steve (Josh Hutcherson), a smart-mouthed kid from a broken home who is usually behind what little trouble Darren gets into. When a chance flyer, promoting a forbidden, exotic freak show that's come to the outskirts of town for a performance that evening, falls into the boys' hands, there is NO WAY they can miss the performance ... and, in doing so, set off a chain of events that will forever change their lives. Or, well, deaths.

Sure enough, at the freak show the buddies are introduced - via front-row seats - to an array of X-Men-style mutants, from Mr. Tall (Ken Watanabe as a deformed giant) and the scaly Evra the Snake Boy (Patrick Fugit), to the bearded lady, Madame Truska (Salma Hayek) and more. The highlight of the show for both boys, however, has to be Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly, in a wonderfully, comically dry performance). See, Darren has this absolute fascination - obsession, really - with spiders, and on-stage Crepsley introduces the audience to the freakiest-cool-looking spider EVER; a colorful, oversize tarantula-esque freak with orange legs that Darren is instantly mesmerized by (especially when it seems to take a liking to him). Meanwhile, for Steve, Larten Crepsley represents something much, much darker ... for Steve's obsession is vampires, and he immediately recognizes Crepsley as the real deal; an image from one of his books on vampire lore come to life.

When the performance is broken up by the local conservative parents, Darren and Steve scatter so as not to be found. Darren, who snuck out of his house to attend the show, inadvertently ducks into what ends up being Crepsley's dressing - and through a strange series of circumstances I won't go into here (trying HARD not to give too much away), Darren steals the spider that night, taking it home with him ... and even to school the next day, where something happens that brings Darren to Crepsley's door, begging him for one hell of a serious favor.

A favor that Crepsley will only grant on one condition: the he, Darren, agree to be turned into a vampire, and become Crepsley's assistant, leaving his family and friends and even Steve forever. Permanently.

To say more might be saying too much, but needless to say things get rather odd for Darren. For Steve too, for that matter, who is still obsessed with knowing Crepsley's true vampiric identity. Worse, there is a group of some pretty bad-ass BAD vampires, too, who all have their own reasons for wanting both Crepsley AND Darran Shan - and indeed, not everything is always what it seems to be in Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, which is of course part of the film's charm.

The cast does a great job here, led by Reilly and Massoglia, as well as Josh Hutcherson as Steve - who doesn't even realize his best friend is alive, just undead. The film's own take on various vampire myths/legends is fresh and original, and the freak show campgrounds and even initial performance seem wholly real, as well as dark and creepy; just as a freak show should be. And while the film blatantly sets up viewers for a sequel - in fact leaves things on a bit of a what's-going-to-happen-next cliffhanger, the journey there is fun, funny, and - thanks to one heck of a battle at the end - all too much of a reminder that Darren and Steve have made choices they may not be able to walk away from.

I don't know that Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant should rank up there with modern-day vampire classics like The Lost Boys or Interview with the Vampire ... but it's certainly a well-crafted, very entertaining story with a great cast. The violence, especially in the end, might be a bit much for very young kids, but otherwise the film can be enjoyed by both kids and adults alike. Nicely done. **** - Reel Awesome