STORYLINE/PLOT:
When a high school student, Steve, and his oddball friend, Darren, who felt that he might be a vampire, were drawn into the milieu of a circus playing their town, they discovered more than freaks and showmanship.
Two denizens of the circus, Larten Crepsley and Gavner Purl, turned out to be vampires.
Further, there was a powerful, enigmatic man, Mr. Tiny, driving around in a limousine within which sat Murlaugh, his enforcer zombie. Pressures of life and teen angst propelled Steve to seek work at the Circus as Larten’s assistant. Much to the envy of Darren, Steve agreed to become a vampire. This required staging his death to smoothly exit the middle class home provided by Mom and Dad. Changing lifestyles meant new conflicts, and prominent opposition existed in the persons of Mr. Tiny, Murlaugh, and gang. A higher authority, the Vampaneze, for the sake of vampire decorum, might well have to cool the dispute.
COMMENTARY:
This movie contained a large number of colorful characters. One of the most intriguing was Mr. Tall, who was a deep-throated eight-foot (?) Asian gent. He seemed to be the Ring-Master at Cirque Du Freak. Salma Hayek provided some romantic interest and pulchritude.
This movie is stylized. There wasn’t excessive violence. It is not up-tempo. There was a leisured approach throughout. For all the oddity encountered, there was something rather routine about life in the circus.
The movie opened with Steve in his coffin at his funeral, operating his smart phone. Narration and flashbacks were used to clarify and inform.
PRODUCTION KEYS:
Paul Weitz – director/writer, Brian Helgeland – writer, Stephen Trask – original music, J.Michael Muro – cinematography, Leslie Jones – film editing
CAST KEYS:
John C. Reilly (Larten Crepsley), Josh Hutcherson (Steve),Chris Massoglia (Darren Shan), Jessica Carlson (Rebecca), Ken Watanabe (Mr. Tall), Salma Hayek (Madame Truska), Willem Dafoe (Gavner Purl), Michael Cerveris (Mr. Tiny), Ray Stevenson (Murlaugh), Patrick Fugit (Evra the Snake Boy), Tom Woodruff Jr. (Wolfman), Shaun Grant (Vampaneze)
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