Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Universal Pictures | Release Date: October 23, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
43
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
15
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Mixing horror and comedy while minimizing the gore, writer-director Paul Weitz (About a Boy) serves up a witty adventure fantasy with a tasty dollop of schadenfreude. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It's more fun than a poke in the heart with a sharp stick. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
Reilly is very funny as the sarcastic mentor, and director Paul Weitz strikes a loopy tone in the scenes at the freak encampment. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
It's creepy but tinged with sarcasm and infused with silly fun. Read full review
63
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
Trades breathless romance for a fun "Ripley's Believe it or Not"-flavored weirdness. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
While "Twilight" will make more money and get more attention, the darkly comic Cirque du Freak boasts the shaggy charm of the natural underdog. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The finished film has been tinkered with and tweaked so thoroughly that it borders on the incomprehensible. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
A profoundly unsatisfying experience - and that doesn't consider the derivative nature of the plot and a lackluster performance by the lead actor. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Reilly gives it his all, and he’s both very enjoyable and about as scary as a stubbed toe. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
The film is competent without being spectacular or thrilling. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
This movie incites curiosity tinged with confusion and irritation. It bristles with interesting ideas — about friendship and freakishness, honesty and anger — and intriguing characters, all of which may blossom in later episodes. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey
Cirque is a harmless bit of fluff with a very cool look, but there's just never enough bite. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Has its moments of fun, many of them having to do with Reilly's deadpan comic style. But the movie lacks the original edge of its better predecessors. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen Cole
More than anything, the film lacks a rapport with its audience. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
Actually, by way of a sequel, the filmmakers could just set Cerveris, Dafoe, and Reilly up for a purr-off. That’d be more fun than most of this film. Read full review
40
VarietyPeter Debruge
The Vampire's Assistant is too busy making impossible claims about just how spectacular its sequels will be to serve up a self-contained story with a satisfying finale. Read full review
40
Village VoiceAaron Hillis
Directed by Paul Weitz (American Pie), the movie suffers from the same tonal schizophrenia of that other recent goth wannabe, "Jennifer's Body": Is it meant to be scary or funny? Oops, it's neither. Read full review
40
Time OutNick Schager
Vampirism is the new monstrosity du jour, and with Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, tweener boys get their own testosterone-infused variant of Twilight. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Making a vampire movie without any bite is like removing guns from a Western. Read full review
40
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Disjointed and disorganized, and it meanders when it needs to gallop. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie has good special effects and suitably gruesome characters, but it's bloodless. Read full review
38
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Jammed with story threads that don’t cohere, Cirque commits the cardinal sin for a vampire movie: It’s bloodless. Read full review
33
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Subplots go nowhere, and characters -- many played by well-known actors -- barely get screen time. Willem Dafoe, Salma Hayek, and Jane Krakowski are among those who are there and gone. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
The movie is occasionally clever, but still inferior to last year's "Twilight" film, mostly because the story is so muddled. Read full review
12
New York PostKyle Smith
Calls to mind Grandpa taking out his dentures and trying to put on a comedy monster show for little kids at Halloween: When he tries to be scary, he's goofy, but when he tries to be goofy, he's scary. Read full review
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