The movie is an adaptation of the book series ‘The Saga of Darren Shan”. Although its world is filled with abnormal humans, the freaks, the story mainly focuses on the conflict between two rival factions of vampires. At the heart of it are two teenage friends that join opposing factions and will ultimately have a major role to play in the ancient long conflict.

There is a certain unique charm that this alternate universe possesses. Although we have seen numerous renditions of different species in other movies, the freaks in this movie feel fresh and unique. This was primarily because the characters were still human and also because they were reinforced by a strong cast of actors that played them. I was pleasantly surprised by the strong performance by John C. Reilly as the half serious and half sarcastic vampire mentor. The movie hinted that its universe had a rich history but it spent little diving into details.

The movie falls into the combined genres of comedy and action. Although the comedy parts are amusing and hit most of the time, the action was a little bland. But that did not matter as the action did not feel as important as this first movie was meant to introduce the characters and the series’ universe. That being said, with the epic large scale battle to come in the future, the studio should seriously consider getting a more experienced action choreographer.

As is often the case with book to movie adaptations, The Vampire’s Assistant felt rushed and did not spend a lot of time on character development. This was probably due to the fact that the studio undertook the ambitious task of covering the first three books in this single movie. Considering that the series has 12 books, this decision can be somewhat justified.

Due to the time constraints, the freaks got a minor amount of screen time. Instead the movie put its main focus on the two teenage kids. As a result the story lacked a bit of maturity in some instances. A primary example of this was that the kid that decided to join the evil vampire side did so because he was neglected by his parents. The kid is prophesized to lead the evil side when he grows older, but it could all have been avoided had he been hugged more often.

The movie uses significant screen time to market its sequels. As a result the ending can feel abrupt and slightly disappointing.

In the end I found the movie entertaining from start to finish and was intrigued by the story and the characters. If they want to take this series to the next level, they will need to make the sequel more mature and give more screen time to the unique ‘freak’ characters. The latter will be the key if they want to stand out from the otherwise crowded vampire movies. 

Studio: Universal Pictures Canada

Directed By: Paul Weitz