Cinema review
Directed by Paul Weitz
Starring John C. Reilly, Chris Massoglia, Josh Hutcherson, Jessica Carlson, Ray Stevenson
Release date 23 October 20009 (UK & US)

Teenagers Darren (Massoglia) and Steve (Hutcherson) visit a mysterious sideshow, where they’re treated to such sights as a woman who can regenerate limbs and a man who can eat anything. After Steve is bitten by a rare spider, Darren lets the arachnid’s owner, the vampire Crepsley (Reilly), turn him into a member of the undead in exchange for saving his friend. Darren soon becomes caught up in the ancient battle between the vampires and the vampaneze…

With the huge success of Twilight, studios are understandably keen to tap into other teen-orientated vampire sagas. And so this month’s arrival is Cirque du Freak, based on the popular stories by horror writer Darren Shan (real name Darren O’Shaghnessy, and here naming the lead character after his nom-de-plume).

The film starts out as a entertaining enough comic fantasy, opening with a whimsical voiceover from Darren which accompanies the sight of his funeral; we then flashback to find out how he wound up dead.

The friends’ trip to the underground ‘Cirque Du Freak’ generates an effective sense of mystery as the pals are greeted by an unseen ticket seller, before they watch a snarling, snorting Wolf Man (incorporating neat old-style costume work). But sadly, it’s downhill from there, as the subsequent extraordinary acts are mainly created with less than extraordinary CGI - even the show's snake and spider are CGI creations (would it have killed them to use real animals?). Later we’re introduced to a pack of vicious tiny creatures (actually dead souls) that look like less-convincing versions of Dobby from Harry Potter, and by the end the whole picture has descended into one long FX-packed conflict.

The charmless effects wouldn’t have mattered so much if they were accompanied by a gripping narrative, but given its fantastical concept, the story feels surprisingly pedestrian. There's little of the sense of strangeness that accompanies the best sideshow movies (such as Freaks, Freaked or Santa Sangre) or the best kids’ fantasies (such as Labyrinth or Coraline), and for the most part the action doesn’t head anywhere surprising.

Chris Massoglia is engaging enough as Darren, though his character is fairly bland, while the ever-great John C Reilly nabs the showiest role as the cynical but personable 200-year-old Crepsley. But elsewhere, a good cast (including Salma Heyek, Orlando Jones, Willem Dafoe and Flight of the Conchords’ Kristen Schaal) are wasted in tiny, thankless supporting parts, and even the main villain, Murlaugh (played by Punisher: War Zone’s Ray Stevenson), doesn’t show his face enough to make much of an impact.

Paul Weitz's fantasy is slickly constructed, and some of the scenes in which Darren settles into life at the Cirque Du Freak are fun. But for the most part this is indistuiguisable from other recent workmanline fantasies like Inkheart or The Spiderwick Chronicles; file under 'unremarkable'. James Skipp

VERDICT: 5/10
Todd Browning’s Freaks meets Harry Potter; not as interesting as that makes it sound.