Recently, the upcoming fantasy-adventure flick "Cirque du Freak" starring John C. Reilly, Salma Hayek, and Chris Massoglia, had its title changed to "The Vampire's Apprentice". I thought the new title was a little dull but since there appears to be a never-ending string of vampire flicks out there, I guess they need apprentices to learn the vampire trade and sort their mail. But Universal has now reached a compromise with "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Apprentice" which is now the first installment in the "Cirque du Freak" SAGA (vampires need sagas; they're deep and tortured creatures).
With all that in mind, the marketing campaign for the film begins in earnest with both a trailer and a poster for the upcoming flick. Hit the jump to check them out along with a couple new photos. "Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assitant" hits theaters on October 23rd.
The poster is a little dull (and you've already seen it), but the trailer is pretty fantastic. It provides a nice sense of horror, comedy, and adventure. Plus, you get to see John C. Reilly kicking some ass so that's worth the price of admission alone. I also dig the new images and while every film wants to be a franchise, I can get behind this film (at least judging from the images and trailer) because it's got an interesting premise and a look that no other film has right now. If it was an original property (it's based on a book series), then it would have my total support (it has about 85% right now).
Check out the trailer [via Moviefone], poster, new images (click to embiggen), and synopsis below. To see the trailer in HD, click here.
For those just tuning in, here's a brief synopsis:
Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, is a fantasy-adventure about a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares.
16-year-old Darren (Chris Massoglia) was like most kids in his suburban neighborhood. He hung out with his best friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson), got decent grades and usually stayed out of trouble. But when he and his buddy stumble upon a traveling freak show, things begin to change inside Darren. That's the exact moment when a vampire named Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly) turns him into something, well, bloodthirsty.
Newly undead, he joins the Cirque Du Freak, a touring sideshow filled with monstrous creatures from a snakeboy and a wolfman to a bearded lady (Salma Hayek) and a gigantic barker (Ken Watanabe). As Darren flexes his newfound powers in this dark world, he becomes a treasured pawn between the vampires and their deadlier counterparts. And while trying to survive, one boy will struggle to keep their brewing war from devouring what's left of his humanity.