Fantastic Fest ’09 Review: Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (2009)
Studio: Universal Pictures
Directed By: Paul Weitz
Cast: John C. Reilly, Chris Massoglia, Josh Hutcherson, Jessica Carlson, Salma Hayek
Review By: Kayley Viteo

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant turned out to be the surprise of Fantastic Fest for me. I went solely because I love John C. Reilly, figuring, at the very least, he would be entertaining. What ended up happening is that I actually enjoyed myself at a movie aimed chiefly at the teenage crowd, which is almost unfathomable and certainly unexpected.

Based on the popular series of books, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant chronicles the life of a young boy as he transforms into a human/vampire hybrid to serve as assistant to an old, jaded vampire. His decision leads him on the road with a bunch of Freaks (literally). I haven’t read the books so I can’t comment on whether or not it is a faithful adaptation, although one young teenager remarked that the film is more comedic in tone than any of the books are.

Although I enjoyed the film, it certainly has its low points. While the acting among the adults is mostly top-notch, the younger crowd is absolutely painful to watch. All of them seem awkward in a way that’s not part of the performance, and for the first 45 minutes, every line appears to be delivered in the same tone and with as much emotion as the last. Still, John C. Reilly is believable in both dialogue and action-heavy scenes, which I did not expect, and I think I will always enjoy seeing Ray Stevenson in the bad guy role.

The saving grace of the film is that the dialogue is surprisingly dark and edgy, at least with the adults, and quite a few moments shocked me into laughter. There are the requisite roll-your-eyes moments when the film focuses on the teenagers, which is to be expected, but overall the black comedy edge balances out anything sweet enough to put you in a diabetic coma. (If I ever see one more sickeningly sweet first kiss scene in my life, it’ll be too soon.)

In addition to the dialogue, I did enjoy the fact that the vampires are less fantasy and more realistic. Crepsley (John C. Reilly) is written like a human without all of the ordinary skills, rather than someone who sparkles and likes to stare so much it borders on being stalkerish, if not outright psychotic. There’s a balance between the human and supernatural aspects of the Freaks and what results is a surprisingly fun film that can be enjoyed by both kids and adults. I might even take a look at the books.