A teen joins a freak circus where he encounters a war between vampires

RELEASED IN 2009 and directed by Marco Brambilla, "Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant" is a fantasy/horror/comedy about a teen (Chris Massoglia) who is compelled to join a circus of freaks where he becomes (you guessed it) the assistant of a vampire (John C. Reilly) and learns of a war between two classes of vampires. Josh Hutcherson is on hand as his best friend while Michael Cerveris plays the mysterious Mr. Tiny. Ray Stevenson is formidable as a vampiric heavy.

After the mega-hit of “Twilight” (2008), producers naturally thought that another young adult book series involving vampires might be profitable. As such, this movie is based on the opening trilogy of the 12-book series “Cirque du Freak: The Saga of Darren Shan” by Darren Shan (pen name of Darren O'Shaughnessy). It mostly focuses on the first book with uber-fans of the books complaining about deviations. In any case, the film wasn’t a hit at the box office (costing $40 million and making back $39 million worldwide with $14 million of that made in North America). Regardless, I much prefer it to “Twilight.”

For some reason I always enjoy stories that center around life in circuses and carnivals. The excellent “Water for Elephants” (2011) is a good example. While that movie was decidedly realistic, “The Vampire’s Assistant” is obviously rooted in fantasy.

The first act is a low-key introduction to the two teen friends, their situation in life, and their intriguing visit to the Cirque Du Freak, which in English means The Freak Circus. The film improves in the second act with the excellent character of Larten Crepsley moving to the spotlight. Reilly is commanding and fascinating in the role. The third act is also really good, centering on the war between the vampires and the vampanese. The plot is involved enough without being too complex and the movie is impressively imaginative on practically every front.

Salma Hayek stands out in the female department as one of the performers with a lame talent. But the creators don’t really take advantage of her presence. In other words, don’t expect anything like Salma’s mind-blowing sequence in “From Dusk till Dawn” (1996). The striking Jane Krakowski is on hand, but her role is very small. Winsome Jessica Carlson plays Rebecca, a potential babe for the protagonist, I guess; she was only 15 during shooting and looks it.

THE FILM RUNS 1 hour, 49 minutes and was shot in Louisiana (New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Folsom) and Los Angeles with studio work done in Universal City.

GRADE: B