"Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant," based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, is a fantasy-adventure about a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares. Sixteen-year-old Darren was like most kids in his suburban (more...)neighborhood. He hung out with his best friend Steve, got decent grades and usually stayed out of trouble. But, when he and his buddy stumble upon a traveling freak show, things begin to change inside Darren. That's the exact moment when a vampire named Larten Crepsley turns him into something, well, bloodthirsty. Newly undead, he joins the Cirque Du Freak, a touring sideshow filled with monstrous creatures from a snakeboy and a wolfman to a bearded lady and a gigantic barker. As Darren flexes his newfound powers in this dark world, he becomes a treasured pawn between the vampires and their deadlier counterparts. And, while trying to survive, one boy will struggle to keep their brewing war from devouring what's left of his humanity.

• Official Web site

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense supernatural violence and action, disturbing images, thematic elements and some language

Length: 108 minutes

Released: October 23, 2009 Nationwide

Score: 2.0

Cast: John C. Reilly, Ken Watanabe, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Massoglia, Ray Stevenson

Director: Paul Weitz
Producer: Lauren Shuler Donner, Paul Weitz, Ewan Leslie
Writer: Paul Weitz, Brian Helgeland, Darren Shan
Genre: SciFi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Horror
Distributor: Universal Pictures