A fantasy-adventure, based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, about a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires.
16-year-old Darren (Chris Massoglia) was like most kids in his suburban neighborhood. 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).
I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
They say imitation is sometimes the greatest of compliments, but what Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant pays is a back-handed sort of lip service that only reminds us of how easy it is to get this sort of movie wrong.
The film fails because it seems to think that imitating content from superior films will grant it credibility. Pinching the concept from Something Wicked This Way Comes, the structure of Harry Potter and the visuals of a Tim Burton film only serves to highlight how little originality lies within the movie itself. The film is terribly edited, seemingly made up entirely of endless montage sequences, some very awkward cameos (Willem Dafoe and Salma Hayek) and offers no sense of passing time or geography to boot.
Reilly and Massoglia are an interesting duo to watch but the film's insistence on hovering in a space that's too childish for adults yet too adult for young children ensures that The Vampire's Assistant is merely lost in its own scenery rather than being a spooky thrill-ride down a kid-friendly rollercoaster. Harry Potter this is not.
By Rajneel Singh, Flicks.co.nz
This movie is the coolest movie ever. (except 4 of course the twilight saga!!) it is totally awesome
I have yet to see the film but I have read a few books too and those were OK. Harry Potter was a good guy (and not bad). The word vampires is actually an anagram of the lesser know and nastier creatures called Ear-Vimps. (These are the REAL ones who plant hairs and waxy deposits in your ears at night).
I wish i could watch this movie but i dont think it was released in Whangarei (obviously it wasnt released in a lot of nz places) HOPEFULLY i notice when it comes out on dvd or something..
cool awesome the best idk go watch it instead of sitting here and reading about it get a girl or a life.
your review
The movie has good special effects and suitably gruesome characters, but it's bloodless.
Making a vampire movie without any bite is like removing guns from a Western.
Cirque is a harmless bit of fluff with a very cool look, but there's just never enough bite.
Jammed with story threads that don’t cohere, Cirque commits the cardinal sin for a vampire movie: It’s bloodless.
The Vampire's Assistant is too busy making impossible claims about just how spectacular its sequels will be to serve up a self-contained story with a satisfying finale.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 7th Jan 2010.
Release date: January 7th 2010.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
