Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

PG-13

Released Oct 23, 2009

1 hr. 49 min.

Fantasy

Adventure

Horror

Action

List

37%

139 Reviews

Tomatometer

42%

250,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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Critics Consensus

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

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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

Audience Member

I don't see why this movie is getting such bad reviews. It's a bit of fun that shouldn't be be taken all that seriously. It had a pretty impressive cast, and I thought it was rather enjoyable.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Did not stay true to the books

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

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Paul Weitz

Director

John C. Reilly

Larten Crepsley

Ken Watanabe

Mr. Tall

Josh Hutcherson

Steve

Chris Massoglia

Darren

Ray Stevenson

Murlaugh

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Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Vampires vs. the Wolf-Man

2:46

Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Freak Camp Daze

2:45

Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Cemetery Showdown

2:50

Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Vampire Slugfest

2:01

Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Vampires Suck!

2:04

Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - The Freak Show

2:32

Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Vampire War

2:38

Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Fight Like A Vampire

1:50

Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - Deadly Spider Act

2:49

Cirque du Freak: Official Clip - The Spider Escapes

2:22

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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

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
Executive Producer: Courtney Pledger, Sarah Radclyffe, Andrew Miano, Dan Kolsrud, Kerry Kohansky-Roberts, Rodney Liber
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

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