A movie about friends who visit a freak show with one turned into a half-vampire sounds kinda lame. Not just kinda lame, real lame. Lame enough that I’m continuing to use the word lame, even though it’s lame to say lame. Crique du Freak might end up being lame, but it’s certainly not lacking for talent both in front of and behind the camera.

Variety says that the always excellent Ken Watanabe has joined the cast of Cirque du Freak, joining John C. Reilly and Salma Hayek. That’s a pretty decent cast to tell the story of a vampire (Reilly) who makes a 14-year-old boy his assistant after the boy visits his traveling carnival. Watanabe will play Mr. Tall, the barker for the Cirque and Hayek is playing the bearded lady.

The movie is based on the first three books (of twelve) of “The Darren Shan Saga.” The Saga is a kid’s horror series and if the movie does well, perhaps more movies will be made. The director is Paul Weitz. That’s the smart Weitz brother who didn’t get involved in The Golden Compass fiasco. The script was written by L.A. Confidential and Mystic River writer Brian Helgeland.