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Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

PG-13 Released Oct 23, 2009 1h 49m Fantasy Adventure Horror Action List
37% Tomatometer 139 Reviews 42% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
Darren (Chris Massoglia) is just like any other teenager, until the day he encounters the Cirque du Freak and a vampire named Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly). After Crepsley turns him into one of the undead, Darren joins the traveling sideshow and its parade of weird and monstrous creatures. As he learns to use his newfound powers, Darren unwittingly becomes a pawn in the struggle between vampire factions.
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Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

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Critics Consensus

This overstuffed, scattershot vampire flick suffers from poor characterization and an unwieldy mix of scares and chuckles.

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Critics Reviews

View All (139) Critics Reviews
Laremy Legel Film.com Rated: D+ May 6, 2011 Full Review Perri Nemiroff Perri Nemiroff (YouTube) Tons of fun, but far too childish to be taken seriously. Rated: 3/5 Sep 13, 2010 Full Review Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com The film is a convoluted mess of ideas and mythology, and while all of it is potentially interesting none of it is fleshed out near well enough to make any of it even slightly worthwhile. Rated: 2/4 Nov 6, 2009 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is the first installment of a proposed franchise, and it’s doubtful we’ll ever see any sequels. Rated: 1/4 Aug 30, 2023 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Since it's the first piece of a complex and lengthy series, more questions than answers are presented. Rated: 7/10 Nov 28, 2020 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com As the vampire Larten Crespley, Reilly actually brings out both his sincere and sarcastic sides. Rated: 2.0/4.0 Sep 5, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Some O This is such a great watch. The books and the movie adaption were awesome. The critics suck, if anything put the rating pg11+. Remake it into a TV series! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/29/24 Full Review Peter R All deserving of a sequel Cirque Du Freak, Scott Pilgrim, War Craft, Bright, Brightburn & Hancock! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/21/24 Full Review Tng N Diễn viên chính diễn đơ, kém Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 04/15/23 Full Review Ronald M Not sure why the rating on this movie is so low... This is one of my all time favorite must see films. The story was great, though a little overly ambitious in how many books it tried to cover. The cast was amazing and did Fantastic, every character complimented the next. The only sad thing is they didn't do a sequel or trilogy. I think this is going to be one of those films that people warm up to over time because it is to good to just fade away. It gave a nice unique take on vampires without being a bloody mess or sparkling. O and I think this is the best performance John Reilly has ever done. All the actors were great but this was the first time I saw John as a real actor instead of just a walking punchline. It proved he was more than his typecast. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/29/22 Full Review Audience Member As someone who's read all the books the movie was just this incredible disappointment, not really any redeeming qualities about this movie. Honestly it was heartbreaking that the movie was so bad, I loved the books and was excited to see they had turned them into a movie... Well when I had actually watched it, it was a far cry from what I was expecting. Would not recommend anyone who's read the books to ever see this movie. I wish I could un-watch it. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member I've read Darren Shan's books in this series. I loved this movie, as strange as it was and loved John C Reilly as the vampire. Adding Willem Dafoe was a fun surprise. This is not a blockbuster by any stretch of the imagination, but a cult movie it definitely is and I've watched it many times. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

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Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Vampires vs. the Wolf-Man Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Vampires vs. the Wolf-Man 2:46 Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Freak Camp Daze Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Freak Camp Daze 2:45 Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Cemetery Showdown Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Cemetery Showdown 2:50 Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Vampire Slugfest Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Vampire Slugfest 2:01 Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Vampires Suck! Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Vampires Suck! 2:04 Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - The Freak Show Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - The Freak Show 2:32 Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Vampire War Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Vampire War 2:38 Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Fight Like A Vampire Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Fight Like A Vampire 1:50 Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Deadly Spider Act Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Deadly Spider Act 2:49 Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - The Spider Escapes Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - The Spider Escapes 2:22 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis Darren (Chris Massoglia) is just like any other teenager, until the day he encounters the Cirque du Freak and a vampire named Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly). After Crepsley turns him into one of the undead, Darren joins the traveling sideshow and its parade of weird and monstrous creatures. As he learns to use his newfound powers, Darren unwittingly becomes a pawn in the struggle between vampire factions.
Director
Paul Weitz
Producer
Lauren Shuler Donner, Paul Weitz, Ewan Leslie
Screenwriter
Brian Helgeland, Paul Weitz
Distributor
Universal Studios
Production Co
Donners' Company, Depth of Field
Rating
PG-13 (Disturbing Images|Action|Intense Supernatural Violence|Some Language|Thematic Elements)
Genre
Fantasy, Adventure, Horror, Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 23, 2009, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 12, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$13.8M
Runtime
1h 49m
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