There's plenty to like about Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant: A winning script by director Paul Weitz and Oscar owner Brian Helgeland; a fascinating cast that includes John C. Reilly, Ray Stevenson, Salma Hayek, and Ken Watanabe; and special effects that, while limited, effectively establish the otherworldly quality of the material. So why did Universal, still looking for its own Harry Potter to profit from, turn this title over to Weitz? Very little in his creative resume hints that he could handle dark, slightly deranged ideas -- and it shows.

When we first meet Darren Shan (Chris Massoglia), he and his incorrigible best friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson) are skipping class -- a bold move for our obedient, straight-arrow hero. When the boys discover an invitation to a forbidden freak show, they can't resist checking it out. During the stage show, they meet Mr. Tall (Watanabe), the purveyor of the oddities, and Larten Crepsley (Reilly), a strange fellow whom Steve believes to be a vampire from ancient times.

After a poisonous spider infects his pal, Darren makes a deal with the flamboyant neckbiter: He will become a member of the undead in exchange for the antidote. So Crepsley turns Darren into a half-vampire, capable of traveling around during the day. This leads the Bearded Lady (Hayek) to predict doom and gloom. Sure enough, a diabolical and mysterious figure named Mr. Tiny (Michael Cerveris) uses the transformation to restart a long standing war between the vampires and the "vampaneze," a sinister clan looking to bring Armageddon to the world -- with Darren and Steve battling on either side.

As should be evident from the plot description, Cirque Du Freak needs to create shock and awe, not sequences of slack dramatics and uninvolving exposition. This film demands a visionary behind the lens -- someone like Terry Gilliam or Tarsem Singh -- not a journeyman like Weitz. True, with 12 books in The Darren Shan Saga series to deal with, the first film may well have to pull back and establish this world a bit. But one gets the sense that Weitz isn't even trying to make things interesting, opting instead to just sit back and let the actors talk...and talk...and talk.

Luckily, much of the dialogue is warm and witty, and the script never takes itself too seriously. In addition, the cast mostly enlivens Weitz's less than impressive flourishes. Reilly effectively walks a fine line between heroic and horrific, while Stevenson makes a terrific evil minion. And stage star and Tony winner Cerveris almost steals the show with his portrayal of the nasty and thoroughly unlikable despot Mr. Tiny. As the young male leads, both Massoglia and Hutcherson are decent, if slightly dim. Even when forced to become the "chosen ones" and fight to the death, they can't seem to command the screen.

While there is more than enough entertainment value to go around here, Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant feels like something that should have been a whole lot better. Even when it breaks out the excitingly oddball touches, Weitz can't give them impact. Instead of delivering an eerie escapist delight, we wind up with yet another example of Hollywood overreaching, fascinating but flawed.



Super freaky.