Z/Web

The “Cirque du Freak” in the title confused and bothered me: it seemed unnecessary and awkward (“The Vampire’s Assistant” would be a great title on its own). But apparently this is based on a book series so that’s why it’s included. Of course I’ve never heard of the books and I doubt most people have and that’s symbolic of the problems with this movie. Book fans rarely want to see their cherished stories warped by a screen adaptation, so why cater to them? Adding that tag line to the title just alienates non-connoisseurs like me. Anyway, the film itself has many flaws. It’s extremely uneven. There are some brilliant concepts: I like the idea of a boy becoming a vampire’s assistant and the freak circus is visually interesting with the opportunity for fascinating characters. But the freaks are not used well. Everything is for display purposes only and we don’t really get to know anyone past the main characters and even they aren’t that interesting. The main boy is a do-gooder who becomes a half-vampire to save the life of his best friend. He’s rather bland but with a good heart, and represents humanity. Unfortunately, his reactions to the freaks are strange: he doesn’t abhor them or even show much surprise, yet he is initially anti-freak and prejudiced. I found myself confused and unsure of how I was supposed to react: are the freaks good, bad, strange, exotic, normal, humorous, or what? No idea. The story is too convoluted and doesn’t really go anywhere. There are mysterious bad guys, a whole vampire mythology that seems incredibly thin yet is trotted out in bits and pieces as though it’s epic, and a horrible ending that resolves little and doesn’t really end. (The ending is just a setup for sequels, which I doubt will ever happen. Apparently this movie is based on just the first book or two and there are something like eight books published in the series, so the producers were obviously hoping this was just the beginning. But instead of giving this one a conclusion, they end it in mid-sentence, so to speak.)

All these negatives aside, there is something above average in the film. It’s got a sort of charm. It feels unpolished, like it’s not sure what it is (Is it for children or adults?), but that doesn’t necessarily ruin it. Ultimately, it’s a weak film, a flawed film, but not a terrible film. It reminds me of a television pilot that sets things up wonderfully for the future but isn’t really that good on its own. I actually wouldn’t mind a sequel; just like TV series often find their rhythm after a few episodes, I could see this series becoming really excellent. But this first one is too confused. See it for the good performances, the exotic visuals, the vampire genre, and ignore the poor story and inconsistent tone. Overall I liked it, in a strange way, but I can’t really recommend it.