There’s an overabundance right now to be sure when it comes to vampires and when you step back its actually pretty staggering how in the blood suckers are right now in just about every medium. That’s why its all the more impressive, and to this reviewer genuinely surprising, that CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT actually feels fresh.

Really, it shouldn’t be that much of a shock that THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT is as good as it is. It does have John C. Reilly, Willem Dafoe and Salma Hayek (as the sexiest bearded lady you’ll ever see) who are all, if you recall, Oscar-nominated actors who in this case are even directed by an Oscar nominee in Paul Weitz (best adapted screenplay for About A Boy). Chris Massoglia as Darren and Josh Hutcherson as best friend Steve round out the cast. Hutcherson and Massoglia play best friends who end up being the new recruits of two warring vampire clans and Hutcherson, relished in playing the villain role. “You don’t really know how evil he’s really going to become until the next movies which hopefully we’ll get to do cause I loved going bad in this one. We combined the first 3 books into this film so we are hoping to do a couple more. We can’t do all 12(all written by Darren Shan) as individual films since we don’t have Harry Potter money or anything but it looks like there’s a good chance I’ll get to be a lot more sinister in the sequel. There’s a scene in the next one where I have a huge army behind me that starts chanting before we go into battle that I really look forward to doing.” Massoglia as Darren does a great job carrying the film considering this is his first big role. He is also starring in the new 3-D film THE HOLE by Joe Dante (one of the only director’s to ever grace the cover of Fangoria) and Massoglia loved every minute of it. “He was amazing to work with and knows exactly what he wants and even with all the high tech equipment we were using he was always on top of everything. He was like my grandfather but with crazier hair. When I saw him walking around with Nathan (Gamble who plays Massoglia’s younger brother in The Hole) I really got reminded of pictures of my grandfather and me so I really felt close to Joe over the course of shooting. The movie just won best 3-D film at Venice Film Festival which was awesome.”

Of course, as one would expect, the real standout performance is from John C. Reilly who was adamant about staying true to the book’s while the movie was in production. “I think a lot of people just know me from my comedy stuff like TALLADEGA NIGHTS and WALK HARD but that’s only a few movies I’ve done lately and most of the 50 or so films I’ve done are pretty dramatic. I know some of the fans of the books are worried the movie will be too comical but really, if you think about it, a character that’s lived as long as Crepsley would probably approach life with a pretty twisted sense of humor so I don’t think its out of place at all in the world Darren created with the books. I’ve read all 12 of the books and really got sucked in and I read LORD OF THE RINGS as a kid and in seeing those films I really wanted to stay true to the books. Hopefully the fans will look at it as its own thing but if ultimately they don’t think we honored the books it’ll be kind of a heart break for me.”

One thing that’s unexpected is the fact that the film isn’t just made for the Tweener crowd as the trailer seemed to suggest and Reilly has been genuinely surprised that the film is being seen that way. “It’s a fun movie with a wide appeal but we weren’t really making this for little kids. I mean there’s a point in the movie where Crepsley is talking to Darren (Chris Massoglia) telling him that he is still holding out hope for death because life no longer has any meaning. Saying life is meaningless is a pretty intense thing to say if this was just a kid’s movie. Its PG-13 and there were definitely times where I thought it would be great if Creplsey could drop some F-bombs but I think we made a pretty adult movie actually. There are some pretty intelligent conversations going on for sure.” Reilly loved the character of Crepsley and audiences will as well and they will most definitely want to see more. “The books really don’t delve too much into Crepsley’s past before becoming a vampire but Darren Shan does such a brilliant job of putting in little hints about his past in the books that I really loved. The book has been translated into so many languages and changes have been made that make it so universal so fans from all over the world see the characters as being Asian if its in Japan or English if its in the UK and they take it very seriously. The mass appeal of the books is pretty amazing actually.” The actor’s background in theater and improv also lured him to the project and the Freak Show community present in the film has a lot in common with the theatre crowd he was immersed in growing up in Chicago. “When I was a kid, the kind of freak shows that are like what’s in the film had been banned so I really didn’t get a chance to see that stuff but I was really into the theater scene as a kid. I remember seeing a production of Alice and Wonderland and being completely entranced when the other kids were throwing lemon drops at the Mad Hatter. Coming from theatre and improv I loved Vaudeville and followed it and liked how Crepsley has created this show that captures that kind of feel and gives all these freaks a place to go. It kind of makes sense for someone like him, whose a vampire and has lived for over 200 years to start a freak show kind of circus like that because it allows him to move around from town to town and not get found out for what he truly is. He’s put a world in place for him where he doesn’t have to worry about getting chased by townspeople with pitchforks anymore.”

The Fantastic Fest crowd flipped for the film and proved once again why they are the best crowd in the world. As someone who has been to his share of premieres, Reilly definitely noticed the fanfare. “They were great and it was really one of the more enthusiastic crowds I’ve seen. They reacted at all the right spots and seemed to have a blast with it. I loved that they managed to get so many kids in the theatre since I looked at the other films that were playing at the Fest and it was body parts getting removed and arterial spray crazy Japanese movies so I was a little concerned.”

I also spoke with Reilly about his visit to Universal Florida’s Halloween Horror Nights last night where FANGORIA RADIO was broadcasting live. “Yeah, we were down there last night and I went through a little bit of the Scare Zones and really had fun with the CIRQUE DU FREAK house it was amazing the level of detail that was involved. Chris (Massaglia) went through the whole thing and had a blast.”

So don’t let the TWILIGHT-esque marketing campaign fool you because this is really a much better film and sets up a sequel in a way that works and somehow doesn’t feel anti-climactic even though the main battle is literally stopped in mid-air by the diabolical character Mr. Tiny at the end of the film. The way the film ends really gets you in the spirit for another film and makes you realize how dynamic these characters will be once they’re fleshed out a bit more. It does seem a little light on story in parts which is a little worrisome since the film combines three of the books but it sounds like there is some fantastic stuff to come. Even so, as a stand alone film, this one is inherently watchable. Still, I think the real reason John C. Reilly signed on the dotted line was the fact that he gets to make out with Salma Hayek. “You know usually with actresses that beautiful they can be a handful but Salma was just so laid back and fun to hang out with. I’m not exactly Brad Pitt in the looks category and I kind of apologized to her for having to kiss me but she made me feel attractive which was great. Luckily, the beard was CGI so I didn’t have to make out with her whiskers!”

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