Ever since the success of the film adaptation of the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, almost a decade ago Hollywood has endlessly been looking for the next big thing in adapting teen-adventure novels. They hit pay dirt last year with the adaptation of Stephanie Myer's teen-vampire book Twilight which has started a chair-reaction of vampire knock-offs throughout pop-culture. Now Universal may have discovered the perfect blend of Harry Potter meets Twilight in the film version of Darren Shan's popular books, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, opening in theaters on October 23rd. We recently had the opportunity to speak with John C. Reilly, Chris Massoglia and Salma Hayek and they gave us an inside look at this freaky new family film. To watch our exclusive interview click on the video clip below.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant tells the frightening tale of a boy 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. 14-year-old Darren (Chris Massoglia) was like most kids in his suburban neighborhood, he hung out with his best friend, 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. Also starring Willem Dafoe, Ray Stevenson, Ken Watanabe, Jane Krakowski, Patrick Fugit, Orlando Jones, Michael Cerveris, Josh Hutcherson and Kristen Schaal and directed by Paul Weitz, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant opens in theatres everywhere on October 23rd.