The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice is the third film in The Librarian television film series on TNT. It follows Return to King Solomon’s Mines, which aired two years prior in 2006.

Flynn, the somewhat-reluctant Librarian, returns from a successful (and expensive) trip to obtain the Philosopher’s Stone, only to be told he must go out on another trip immediately. He resists, and is sent on a New Orleans vacation instead. There he meets Simone (played by Stana Katic of Castle fame), a singer at a nightclub and the guardian of a clue regarding the location of the Judas Chalice, an unholy grail which gives vampires great power.

As with all of the films, The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice is a comedic, campy adventure which can be enjoyed by most of the family. There are a few scary moments with the vampires which might scare younger children, but they are not that scary due to the campiness involved. The action during those scenes keeps things from dwelling on the scary factor.

The music by Joseph LoDuca is appropriately adventuresome, with rising scores to increase the excitement and suspenseful melodies to increase the tension in parts. It is exactly what you would expect from a film drawing inspiration from adventure films featuring Indiana Jones, Allan Quatermain, and Jack Colton. There’s a little bit of all of them in Flynn.

The special effects were nothing special, just what would be expected from a television film without a blockbuster budget. The effects worked well within the feel of The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice, however, so they didn’t really impact the enjoyability. If anything, they enhanced the campy feel.

The bright spot in this film, though, is the interaction between Flynn and Simone. There were definite sparks between the two, and the screen practically crackled when they were on together. Katic did an especially good job, and she likely drew on her Serbian heritage to make the part very believable. Excellent job.

The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice was a great popcorn flick, and a little bit better than the second film. If you liked the new television series, you will enjoy this film.

Release Date: December 7, 2008 (USA)
TV Parental Guidelines Rating: TV-PG
Network: TNT
Language: English

MySF Rating: Three point five stars
Family Friendliness: 90%

Content:

Alcohol/Drugs: 1 (social drinking, drunkenness)
Language: 1 (minor)
Nudity: 0
Sexuality: 1 (brief making out, implied sex)
Violence: 2 (gunfire, torture, violent threats, vampire attacks, death by stake)