Freaks are main feature in ‘Cirque’

If you can’t already guess, this movie, based on the first three books in the “Saga of Darren Shan” series, is about a boy (Chris Massoglia) who becomes a vampire’s assistant.

Why does he do this? To save the life of his friend, Steve (Josh Hutcherson), who is near death. But Steve doesn’t repay this kindness. He’s jealous of Darren and joins a rival clan of vampires who are intent on harming his former friend. Meanwhile, Darren and his vampiric mentor, Mr. Crepsley (John C. Reilly), have taken up residence with a traveling band of circus freaks, the Cirque du Freak.

“Freak” was really slow, and for a film made out of the substance of three books crammed together, the plot felt very tenuous. The circus freaks, played mostly by B-list celebrities, stole the show with their personality quirks, strange looks and outrageous behavior.

Reilly was sometimes funny and got a few good jokes in, but much more often he spent his time giving melodramatic advice or being fawned over by Salma Hayek, who played Madame Truska, the bearded lady. He’d be better off sticking with comedy.