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

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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)

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 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB)

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Students who attended a school in which a few scenes of the movie were shot were cast as extras.

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:

Larten Crepsley: Vampires don't need cellphones.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Something Is Not Right with Me

An excellent adaption of the book series

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, is a fantasy-adventure about a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares.

16-year-old Darren (Chris Massoglia) was like most kids in his suburban neighborhood. He hung out with his best friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson), got decent grades and usually stayed out of trouble. But when he and his buddy stumble upon a traveling freak show, things begin to change inside Darren. That's the exact moment when a vampire named Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly) turns him into something, well, bloodthirsty.

Newly undead, he joins the Cirque Du Freak, a touring sideshow filled with monstrous creatures from a snakeboy and a wolfman to a bearded lady (Salma Hayek) and a gigantic barker (Ken Watanabe). As Darren flexes his newfound powers in this dark world, he becomes a treasured pawn between the vampires and their deadlier counterparts. And while trying to survive, one boy will struggle to keep their brewing war from devouring what's left of his humanity. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant 10/10