Cup of My Blood (2005)

Perfect cast and a good story

As Good As It Gets

Absolutely the worst movie.

The acting in this movie is really good.

There's uneven and then there's this movie. The premise that the last person you'd think should look after the Holy Grail is the one chosen to do it...well, I've see it before. In the first half hour, the only person I wanted to see (Tina) was dead already. The hero was like a post car-wreck Bill Pullman. The porno king kept reminding us he was acting. Limpy has a good look but not compelling enough to wait hour and eighteen minute for. And the writing was atrocious with needless amounts of exposition AFTER you know what going on. Or some heavy hand line like "I got degrees in Philosophy, Religion and Art." Hm. And this picture as RELIGIOUS themes? You must be very important to the plot. I'm sure some trailer park trash found stuff like this "real inneresting" but it made me laugh. And not in a good/bad way. Still, the final nail in the cross...er...coffin were the innumerable audio stings faking you out. It's a valid technique but it gets dull watching and actor on the screen constantly flinching. I can almost picture the audition - "Now, there's a lot of flinching in this movie. Let's see you flinch."Go watch God Told Me To, instead. At least that's an ambitious mess.

Some of the reviews for this film are so bad, that I'm not sure what horror fans are looking for. This film is scary, well acted, professional and smart. It's sad that some people are satisfied by much less. When a really good film like "Cup of My Blood" comes along, they criticize it for being different than most of the horror junk out there. Don't listen to them, see it for yourself. Once this film starts, it just doesn't let up. As the twists and turns unfold, the true calling of the main character becomes chillingly apparent. If you are one of those horror fans who like "Brain Damage" films, you might not like this "Cup of My Blood. It'll be way over your head. This is the closest thing I've seen in a while that could be called an "arthouse" horror film.

When Jack Fender (Daniel Patrick Sullivan) - former photographer turned pornographer - witnesses a car accident, the dying passenger charges him with a task: take care of the box she's carrying. Don't look at what's within and keep it safe. Jack takes the box and is soon haunted by strange dreams, weird visions and a feeling of acute paranoia. And rightly so, as the box contains the Holy Grail and there are forces who will go to great lengths to get their hands upon it...Imagine if David Lynch was Japanese and he'd directed The Ninth Gate.That's probably the best way to describe "Cup of My Blood," a creepy, atmospheric supernatural thriller that delivers some very well-timed shocks, has a great sense of dread, features some nice "in-camera" SFX (ala Jacob's Ladder) and some very well executed (no pun intended) gore scenes, which, although not hugely visceral, are enough to keep schlock fans happy without offending the more sensitive horror fan.One other point to raise is the superb use of sound in this movie. Atmospheric rumbles, almost bordering on the subsonic haunt the movie's soundtrack, creating a very disturbing, eerie atmosphere of dread.Sadly, performances are a mixed bag, with some stilted acting and - to be brutally honest - dialogue that's at best, okay and at worst, bad. Despite its faults, though, it manages to retain a great sense of dread and an interesting - if at times confusingly overplayed - plot.Whilst the movie's basic plot is straightforward enough (providing you stick with it - just roll with the "flashbacks/intercuts," as they're explained later), but some extra backstory on a couple of characters and a clearer explanation on exactly WHY the Grail is so important (being Christ's cup aside) would have helped.As it is, "Cup of My Blood" falls short of being a great movie. With a stronger cast, a little tightening around the edges and a little more exposition it could have been superb. As it stands, it's a solid, entertaining enough movie that I doubt will make anybody's Top Ten, but kudos to Lance Catania and crew for producing a chilling, different and interesting movie. I look forward to seeing his future work.

The story is not believable.The acting is not believable.The horror techniques have long since grown old and boring.The result is that it's not scary. That is the primary problem. I never felt surprised or shocked. I didn't care about the characters. In fact, it was more like watching a poor zombie film where you simply can't wait for the next body to get ripped apart simply to keep you amused.Lucky for everyone, this has been a good year for zombie and gore films, so you can check out Land of the Dead instead. Or even a better than average ghost film like Dark Water. Or a spookier, more brutal than average super-hero film like Batman Begins.