Cirque du Freak scares up a good time

By Kait Chura     10/29/09 7:00pm

Let's start by saying that, yes, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistantis just another vampire movie based off a series of teen novels. However, this particular film succeeds where its predecessors (ahem, Twilight) have failed, bringing superb casting and production quality to the table. There is no slack-jawed Kristen Stewart or awkwardly inarticulate Robert Pattinson, nor are there the gasping, misty-eyed tween fangirls screaming about Edward's abs. The casting aloneputs Cirque du Freak a bit higher on the totem pole than all those other teenage vampire stories, and the movie's unique plot never fails to entertain.

John C. Reilly (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby) plays Larten Crepsley, a former vampire general who has given up his position of power to work as a spider charmer in the Cirque du Freak-the world's oldest traveling freak show. However, Crepsley is not the typical John C. Reilly character we've all come to know and love (or hate). Reilly is humorous at times, yes, but he does not fall into the "I'm an idiot so watch me mess up" role that was the meat-and-potatoes of movies like Talladega Nights and Step Brothers. After all, that's what the teenagers in this film are for: Few things are more humorous than watching pubescent boys with dark obsessions act like idiots and screw things up.

Much like Reilly, the people who fill out the stellar cast - the ones who make you forget all about the mundane Stewart and Pattinson - are not the ones audiences would typically expect to take on such roles. Salma Hayek (Frida) plays Madame Truska, a bearded lady with visions of evils to come, and Jane Krakowski ("30 Rock") is the bizarre Corma Limbs, a woman with the ability to regrow limbs that have been cut off. Ken Watanabe (Batman Begins) portrays the towering ring leader Hibernius Tall, and Willem Dafoe (Platoon) is vampire general Gavner Purl. Surprisingly, the film is not stolen by the supporting cast, but enhanced - a rare feat for a film with this amount of star power.

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Chris Massoglia (A Plumm Summer) shares the spotlight as Darren orthe world's greatest teenager, as he introduces himself in the movie's first five minutes. He gets good grades, girls like him and dudes think he's cool. He seems perfect, aside from his absolute obsession with spiders and his troublemaking best friend, Steve.Both flaws eventually lead to Darren becoming a half-vampire, turning from an All-American teenager into Crepsley's assistant. However, unknown to both, Darren has a prewritten future to lead the vampires against their evil counterpart, the "vampanese."

While the film does not reach the war that takes place in the novels, its conclusion is obviously left open for a sequel. Nevertheless, audiences aren't left hanging at the end, unsure of where Darren's destiny will lead him, a la The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring's abrupt ending.

Cirque was surprisingly engrossing from the opening credits all the way to the final scene, with the cast enrapturing the audience in every scene. It may not be the scariest movie in theaters, and on the surface it may seem like an attempt to cash in on the current vampire-novel-movie-adaptation craze, but there's no denying the film is entertaining. Just don't expect to find much else under the coffin lid.

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