By KIRBY MCCORD

PALESTINE — Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is an entertaining film. Based on the book series by Darren Shan, it chronicles the bizarre journey of a stereotypical modern-day high school student as he is sucked into a world peopled by vampires and other unusual beings.

The offbeat mood of the entire movie is captured perfectly in the opening moments of the movie: Darren's voice is telling us about himself while we witness a funeral, only to discover that he is the one being buried. But as the camera burrows into the coffin, we find Darren (Chris Massoglia, TV's “Wanted”) inside playing a video game. This moment sets the stage. The audience already knows they have come to a horror movie, but they now also know that the writers' tongues are planted firmly in their cheeks.

Screenwriters Brian Helgeland (A Knight's Tale) and Paul Weitz (American Dreamz, who also directs) do a masterful job of creating likable characters wending their way through an iconoclastic, often campy, and sometimes creepy tale. The scenes seamlessly shift from ordinary suburban home life and high school classes to the eerie world of Cirque du Freak.

It seems that Darren, an apparently “good” kid who obeys parents and teachers and dotes on his little sister has a best friend, Steve (Josh Hutcherson, Journey to the Center of the Earth, RV), who is “bad.” But Darren is a follower, not a leader. Steve repeatedly gets Darren in trouble, and when he persuades Darren to attend the Cirque du Freak they get more than either bargained for. The two teens are drawn into an alien world where a snake boy, a monkey girl, a bearded lady, and a vampire combat the evil malice of Mr. Tiny and the violently unhygienic vampaneze.

Chris Massoglia as Darren is probably the weak link in the movie. His protagonist is bland, and not terribly interesting, but you can't help liking him. Josh Hutcherson is more compelling as the angrily sociopathic Steve. Both Massoglia and Hutcherson reflect just enough teen angst to be believable, even if they don't have magnetic screen presence. The real star of the show though is John C. Reilly (Step Brothers) as the wonderfully articulate Larten Crepsley, a vampire/magician headlining the Cirque du Freak show. His clownish face and melodious voice mesmerize Darren, as well as the audience: both assets are alternately sympathetic and dangerous, with the result being a fascinating character.

The supporting cast is top notch, and without expert ensemble acting by this troupe, The Vampire's Assistant would fall flat. Mr. Tiny (Michael Cerveris, TV's “Fringe”) and Murlaugh (Ray Stevenson, TV's “Rome”) reek of gleeful creepiness. Evra the Snake Boy (Patrick Fugit, Almost Famous), Rebecca the Monkey Girl (Jessica Carlson, Blue Dress), Mr. Tall (Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai), Madame Truska (Salma Hayek, After the Sunset), and Gavner Purl (Willem Dafoe, Spider-Man 3), all members of the Cirque du Freak, utilize their unique abilities to help Darren. Meanwhile, Darren's teacher Mr. Kersey (Patrick Breem, Galaxy Quest) and Darren's parents (Don McManus, Ocean's Thirteen and Colleen Camp, Factory Girl) try to warn Darren of the consequences of his wayward actions. Of course he ignores them, and the audience is rewarded with an enjoyable movie.

Special effects and make-up play a role in The Vampire's Assistant as well. These are competent, if unspectacular. A boldly colored spider is personable but preposterous; and a wolfboy is decidedly unwolf-like; but most importantly, hyperfast vampiric movements are colorful, humorous, and exciting, if not particularly groundbreaking.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant will not win any Oscars. However, its offbeat script, colorful characters, and mix of humor and horror are worth the price of a ticket, something that cannot be said of many movies. And it's a good thing, too, because the movie is clearly designed as part of a series.