ScreenWize

With the clock ticking on the Harry Potter series, the hunt is apparently on for the next potential franchise to open the hearts and wallets of hundreds of millions of young cinemagoers worldwide. We recently had the pleasure of meeting Percy Jackson from the Rick Riordan novels, a fun modern take on the legends of ancient Greece, though word is still out as to possible sequels. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, the latest contender for the Potter throne, is from a series of twelve books by Darren Shan. Shan shares the same literary agent as J. K. Rowling, though I have to say that’s about as close as they’re going to get.

This film is based on the first three books in the series, introducing us to teenage best friends Darren (Chris Massoglia) and Steve (Josh Hutcherson). Steve has a vampire obsession, and dreams of the romance of the vampire lifestyle. When a travelling freakshow, the Cirque du Freak, comes to town he convinces Darren to tag along with him, and the boys cross the path of two hundred year old vampire Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly). When Steve is critically injured, Darren offers himself as a servant to Larten if he will save Steve’s life, and so Darren finds himself indentured as a vampire’s assistant in the Cirque.

It seems no author is content to leave the vampire legend as is these days, and so of course vampires are good, kindly folk (Larten is just a shamelessly hammy vaudevillian), and Darren lands himself in the middle of a war between the vampires and the real villains, the vampanese. Director Paul Weitz (About a Boy) has produced a good looking film – the art direction is fabulous and the occasional animated sequence, including the opening titles, are gorgeous. Weitz’s screenplay (with Brian Helgeland) contains liberal splashes of humour, but in the end the film lacks an emotional hook, perhaps thanks to the lacklustre performances of the young leads.

The pair are outflanked on all sides by a weighty supporting cast, including Salma Hayek in a great turn as Crepsley’s girlfriend, the bearded lady. Other members of the Cirque du Freak include Orlando Jones as the thin man, Jane Krakowski as a regenerating woman (and shameless flirt), and Ken Watanabe as the Circus master, while the young actor Patrick Fugit gives a great sense of depth to the role of Evra the Snake Boy The strong cast hints at further stories to come, and shows the belief the studio had in franchise. The film’s ending all but says ‘to be continued.’

Rating:

CK

Filed Under: Reviews by Simon