Despite having a dull looking lead actor and a simplistic story, this is a good movie which manages to be very entertaining. The pacing is just right to make this into a thriller, with bits of horror, rather than an all out horror movie. The fact is that this movie was aimed at teenagers and therefore has deadpan humour mixed in as well, which works quite well in this case. Now it is quite obvious why vampires appeal so much to youngsters, it is all in the hormones. I understand it, but still can't hate these movies for that reason. Twilight is a phenomenon and its metaphor is sexual repression; Bella yearns to be bitten by Edward, while he is all for abstinence. In Cirque Du Freak the metaphor seems to be teen suicide with all the coffin sleep, yearning for the vampire way of life and war. Also it helps for the vampire's case to be made when you get an eternity of beauty, speed and brutal strength in return for a regular human diet; it is quite easy to be able to live on human blood for all these.
Darren Shan (Chris Massoglia) and Steve (Josh Hutcherson) are two regular teenagers who are best friends and are fed up with their bland, boring lives. They have their quirks; Darren is obsessed with spiders, while Steve loves everything about vampires. The story begins with Darren's funeral; he is inside the freshly buried coffin playing a video game while his family and friends are mourning his death! He begins to explain how he got into that situation in the first place. Steve and Darren go to "Cirque du Freak: The World's Greatest Freak Show" where they meet weird deformed people who are the freaks of the normal world. There Darren he is enamored by Larten Crepsley's (John. C. Reily) spider and wants to steal it. So he goes into Larten's private room and learns depressing things about his friend when Steve decides to ask Crepsley to turn him into a vampire, and horrific truths about the world of Vampires and Vampaneze. Vampires don't kill humans, they only feed their share and leave the prey alone, while the Vampaneze kill humans. A war is simmering among the clans and even a tiny wrong thing could push it over the edge. He runs away from there into Mr. Tiny's (Michael Cerveris) waiting hands. Mr. Tiny is the guy who has come back from the other side and can make other dead people come to life too, and him taking an interest in Darren doesn't forebode well for him. The spider poisons Steve and Darren goes to Crepsley where he makes a deal with him to become a half vampire and Crepsley's assistant in exchange for his friend's life. Darren has to get away from his family before he turns on them due to hunger and so Crepsley makes it look like Darren has died after which Darren takes shelter at the Cirque. After his departure from normal life into the Cirque, Steve is turned into a vampaneze by Mr. Tiny. He goes over to the dark side inherent in his nature and it is upto Darren and Crepsley to stop him and Mr. Tiny before it brings about a war.
Having never read Darren O'Shaughnessy's book series, I didn't know what to expect of this film. So, this review is not based on the book vs movie type. John. C. Reily impressed me big time with his portrayal of Crepsley. Except 'Step Brothers' he has not done that many good movies recently. Darren is sadly under-qualified for this role, he isn't that much of an actor (But I give him credit for the shouting scene at the start). He isn't credible enough for the role, much like Percy Jackson and Eragon's lead actors who paled in comparison to the excellent ensemble cast. Hutcherson is a better actor (he single-handedly broke hearts in "Bridge to Terabithia"), but he's all wrong for the role of a vengeful bad boy who spouts things like, "I will hunt you down!" Mr. Tiny is creepy enough when he says " I love your DNA" to Darren and he is over the top dramatic, like a creepy Bollywood villain. Salma Hayek is totally wasted in here, she is the beard woman who makes predictions and she doesn't have a lot to do. Lot of effort is put into making the freaks look, well 'freaky' and it does look good overall. Evra, the snake boy and Rebecca, the monkey girl are quite cool in their roles, and along with the weird Dobby-like (from Harry Potter) creatures, it looks like it was partly inspired by Harry Potter. Give it a try if you like teenage vampire movies.
7/10
Darren Shan (Chris Massoglia) and Steve (Josh Hutcherson) are two regular teenagers who are best friends and are fed up with their bland, boring lives. They have their quirks; Darren is obsessed with spiders, while Steve loves everything about vampires. The story begins with Darren's funeral; he is inside the freshly buried coffin playing a video game while his family and friends are mourning his death! He begins to explain how he got into that situation in the first place. Steve and Darren go to "Cirque du Freak: The World's Greatest Freak Show" where they meet weird deformed people who are the freaks of the normal world. There Darren he is enamored by Larten Crepsley's (John. C. Reily) spider and wants to steal it. So he goes into Larten's private room and learns depressing things about his friend when Steve decides to ask Crepsley to turn him into a vampire, and horrific truths about the world of Vampires and Vampaneze. Vampires don't kill humans, they only feed their share and leave the prey alone, while the Vampaneze kill humans. A war is simmering among the clans and even a tiny wrong thing could push it over the edge. He runs away from there into Mr. Tiny's (Michael Cerveris) waiting hands. Mr. Tiny is the guy who has come back from the other side and can make other dead people come to life too, and him taking an interest in Darren doesn't forebode well for him. The spider poisons Steve and Darren goes to Crepsley where he makes a deal with him to become a half vampire and Crepsley's assistant in exchange for his friend's life. Darren has to get away from his family before he turns on them due to hunger and so Crepsley makes it look like Darren has died after which Darren takes shelter at the Cirque. After his departure from normal life into the Cirque, Steve is turned into a vampaneze by Mr. Tiny. He goes over to the dark side inherent in his nature and it is upto Darren and Crepsley to stop him and Mr. Tiny before it brings about a war.
Having never read Darren O'Shaughnessy's book series, I didn't know what to expect of this film. So, this review is not based on the book vs movie type. John. C. Reily impressed me big time with his portrayal of Crepsley. Except 'Step Brothers' he has not done that many good movies recently. Darren is sadly under-qualified for this role, he isn't that much of an actor (But I give him credit for the shouting scene at the start). He isn't credible enough for the role, much like Percy Jackson and Eragon's lead actors who paled in comparison to the excellent ensemble cast. Hutcherson is a better actor (he single-handedly broke hearts in "Bridge to Terabithia"), but he's all wrong for the role of a vengeful bad boy who spouts things like, "I will hunt you down!" Mr. Tiny is creepy enough when he says " I love your DNA" to Darren and he is over the top dramatic, like a creepy Bollywood villain. Salma Hayek is totally wasted in here, she is the beard woman who makes predictions and she doesn't have a lot to do. Lot of effort is put into making the freaks look, well 'freaky' and it does look good overall. Evra, the snake boy and Rebecca, the monkey girl are quite cool in their roles, and along with the weird Dobby-like (from Harry Potter) creatures, it looks like it was partly inspired by Harry Potter. Give it a try if you like teenage vampire movies.
7/10