In the 2000s, Harry Potter excited the minds of teenagers, almost a decade later the super-popular Twilight was released, and at the dawn of the 2010s, the hearts of young people were captured by The Hunger Games. Hundreds of filmmakers dreamed of repeating the success of these box office franchises.
The film Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant also had great potential. The 2009 film was a loose adaptation of the first three books in Darren Shan's vampire saga.
According to the plot, Darren, an exemplary schoolboy, loves spiders. One day, together with his best friend, Steve, the boy gets to a mysterious circus performance, where his attention is drawn to a spider, Madame Octa. But Octa already belongs to a dangerous vampire. Thus begins a story full of drama and adventure.
The main role in the film was played by the unknown Chris Massoglia, and the young actor was accompanied by the already very popular Josh Hutcherson, John Reilly, Willem Dafoe, Salma Hayek and other idols of millions also appeared in the film.
But the star cast did not save the film: the film barely paid for itself at the box office. The studio did not sign contracts with the director and the cast, the second part of the film was never released, to the disappointment of Shen's fans.