South America Month Quick Picks and Pans

 

The Aerial (aka: La Antena) (2007) If Guy Maddin took a wrong turn in Winnipeg and ended up in Buenos Aires, he might have concocted something like this. Writer/director Esteban Sapir’s whimsically dark fantasy recalls the style of the Canadian director, but has an energy all its own. The predominately silent black-and-white film, takes place (appropriately enough) in a city that’s lost its voice. A faceless singer and her eyeless son (who inherited her vocal gift) are stalked by a ruthless millionaire, who wants to exploit them for his own devious ends. It’s up to a lowly TV repairman and his estranged wife to save the day. The Aerial may not be the easiest movie to find, but worth seeking out. 

Rating: ****. Available on DVD (Region 2)

The Beast Must Die (1952) Not to be confused with the 1974 Amicus movie carrying the same name, this delectable slice of Argentine noir from director/co-writer Román Viñoly Barreto captivates from start to finish. Felix Lane (Narciso Ibáñez Menta), a writer of murder mysteries, plots a murder of his own when his son is struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver. He befriends a glamorous actress (Laura Hidalgo), who could be his only link to the driver, Jorge Rattery. Guillermo Battaglia is excellent in the role of unscrupulous (and aptly named) businessman Rattery, one of the most despicable characters in noir. The story, told mostly in flashback, illustrates how everyone around Jorge wanted him dead. It’s an emotionally devastating, beautifully acted, meditation on the weight of loss.   

Rating: ****. Available on Blu-ray and DVD

 

The Wolf House (aka: La Casa Lobo) (2018) This visually inventive, profoundly unsettling Chilean film by co-directors Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León employs a variety of animation techniques to tell its melancholy tale, steeped in metaphor and mythology. After fleeing a religious cult, Maria tries to make a home for herself, with two pigs in tow. The nightmarish images are purposely rough around the edges, adding to the tumultuous feel, making no attempt to hide the artifice of the animation. It’s a soul-wrenching portrait of abuse, and the terrible cycle that perpetuates. 

Rating: ****. Available on DVD, Kanopy, Shudder and Tubi

 

Bacurau (2019) The tiny village of Bacurau suddenly falls off the map, leaving the residents vulnerable to the sick machinations of a corrupt local politician and a group of bloodthirsty mercenaries (led by Udo Kier). The film starts with a mystery, as people are prevented from entering or leaving the town. As secrets are slowly revealed, the mystery gives way to a standard revenge flick, with shades of The Most Dangerous Game. Even if it falls somewhat short, Bacurau features some excellent performances by Kier and Sonia Braga (who plays one of the village elders), and an interesting depiction of rural Brazilian life, making this well worth your time. 

Rating: ***½. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Kanopy

 

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (1976) Sonia Braga stars as the title character, married to two-timing ne’er do well Valdomiro (José Wilker). When Valdomiro unexpectedly expires, due to another round of debauchery, Dona Flor is on the lookout for new husband material. She eventually settles for mild-mannered pharmacist Teodoro (Mauro Mendonça), and his promise of domestic stability. But a trivial thing like death doesn’t end things for her first husband (who’s only visible to her), who frequently returns for some amorous attention. Now, Dona must reconcile her mixed feelings for Valdomiro’s lecherous ways and Teodoro’s kind but dull personality. It’s well-acted, albeit a trifle overlong, and one has to question the dated premise that Dona has to choose at all between two less-than-stellar prospects. 

Rating: ***. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Kanopy

Hellish Flesh (aka: Inferno Carnal) (1977) Brazilian shock pioneer José Mojica Marins (who also wrote and directed) stars as Dr. George Medeiros, a scientist (studying what, I couldn’t tell you) and doting husband. Unfortunately for Medeiros, he doesn’t realize that his wife Raquel (Luely Figueiró) has been sleeping with his friend Oliver (Oswaldo De Souza). The two lovers scheme to get rid of Medeiros by throwing acid (which has been conveniently sitting in an open flask above his work desk) in his face, followed by a laboratory fire. Naturally, Medeiros’ disfigurement doesn’t stop him from plotting his revenge. It’s cheaply made, with a twist that isn’t much of a twist, and there’s nothing particularly original about the plot, but it’s marginally diverting. 

Rating: **½. Available on DVD (Out of Print)  

 

Los Decentes (aka: A Decent Woman) (2016) Belen (Iride Mockert), a repressed 32-year-old woman takes a job as a live-in maid at an exclusive gated community. She soon discovers just beyond the immaculately trimmed hedges and rolling golf course, lies a nudist colony. One day, she decides to throw caution (and her clothes) to the wind and join them, finding a new-found freedom in her covert lifestyle. The first two-thirds provide an interesting, subtle satire on a clash of cultures and values, with ample commentary on the haves and have nots. Unfortunately, it disintegrates in the third act, with a surprise (and tasteless) twist that undermines the rest of the film. Close, but no cigar.    

Rating: **½. Available on DVD and Kanopy

 

Hallucinations of a Deranged Mind (1978) Writer/director José Mojica Marins, working with next to no budget, cobbled together this half-baked horror film, with a surprisingly unique premise. A psychologist goes off the deep end, hallucinating that he’s being tormented by Coffin Joe His colleagues try to bring him out of his trance, bringing in the actor who played Coffin Joe (Marins as himself) in an attempt to bring him out of his trance. The interesting meta theme pre-dates Wes Craven’s A New Nightmare by several years. Unfortunately, it’s padded out with multiple scenes from previous Coffin Joe movies. The seemingly endless repetition of the same shots makes this one a chore to watch. For Coffin Joe completists, only. 

Rating: **. Available on DVD

This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse

(1967) Directed by José Mojica Marins; Written by Aldenora De Sa Porto and José Mojica Marins; Starring: José Mojica Marins, Tina Wohlers, Nadia Freitas, Antonio Fracari and Jose Lobo; Available on Blu-ray and DVD 

Rating: ***½ 

“When I shot Inferno em Cores (Hell in Colors), I had to find a hue for Hell. Since the film was black and white, I thought it would look beautiful to add some color to the white parts. It would highlight the victims in Hell. The scene was all white, and it was snowing the whole time. That highlighted the people. Now, a colorful Hell is my view. No one has ever come back from Hell to tell me what color it is. Each one sees it as they please. I saw a colorful one, and it worked better than in black and white.” – José Mojica Marins

José Mojica Marins’ follow-up to his groundbreaking film, At Midnight I’ll Possess Your Soul (1964), continues the saga of Zé do Caixão (aka: Coffin Joe) and his tireless quest to find the perfect woman to bear his son. Anyone foolish enough to get in his way must prepare to suffer the consequences. As with its predecessor, This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse (aka: Esta Noite Encarnarei no Teu Cadáver) explores the Coffin Joe’s tumultuous relationship with the sacred and the profane. Compared to the brisk 13-day shoot for the first movie, the second Coffin Joe installment* was more complicated, requiring three months. 

* Fun Fact #1: As with his first production, Marins employed mostly amateurs for the majority of the roles. Marins recalled that several of the performers from the Hell scene had to return to their day jobs, still covered in plaster.

Once the angry mob descended upon him in the first film, Coffin Joe’s fate appeared to be sealed. But in the unerring logic of sequels, no one ever truly dies. It turns out he was only mostly dead (with apologies to The Princess Bride). After a brief stint in the hospital, and an ensuing murder trial (in which he’s exonerated), he’s back in town, and up to his usual misanthropy, misogyny, and any other “mis” word you might care to attach to him. This time, however, he’s joined by his faithful hunchbacked assistant Bruno (Why is it always Bruno or Igor?), played by Jose Lobo, who helps collect potential vict—ahem, candidates for Brazil’s most ineligible bachelor. He subjects his prisoners to all sorts of torture to satisfy his sadistic pleasures, including tarantulas, a snake pit,* and a stone device that pulverizes his victims, like a crude hydraulic press. 

* Not-So-Fun Fact #1: According to Marins, the actress playing Jandira was a little too convincing in her snake pit performance, as she was actually being strangled by a large constrictor. Once Marins and his crew realized what was going on, they jumped in to save her. Surprisingly, she agreed to do another take of the scene.

Marins doesn’t portray, so much as inhabit Coffin Joe. You get the feeling he’s not merely playing a character, but possessed by the spirit of his demented creation. Coffin Joe shuns the spiritual world and human frailties, in the service of his lofty, amoral ambitions. He practices his own form of eugenics (“The perfect man can only come from the union of two perfect beings.”), convinced that his son will help usher in a new world, free of superstitions and (what he considers to be) weak human emotions. At the same time, he’s a man of profound contradictions, denying spiritualism or a higher power, but fearing retribution from above. He despises adults, yet holds a special reverence for children (“Look. Nature’s perfect creation… children. Pity that they grow up to become idiots, in search of nothing.”). This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse is a fascinating study in human behavior in the face of evil. It illustrates how someone could perpetrate ghastly atrocities, and still become revered by certain individuals. Despite the fact that most of the villagers want to destroy him, a devoted mini-cult forms around Coffin Joe. At once rejected by him as an imperfect candidate for breeding, Marcia (Nadia Freitas) becomes his willing accomplice. Marcia’s eventual remorse about assisting him (in the film’s latter third) only seems perfunctory, designed to reinforce the film’s moralistic message, rather than refute her role in Coffin Joe’s skullduggery. Considering the scenes that preceded her change of heart, Marins forces us to confront the unsettling notion that there’s a small part inside us that enjoys watching Coffin Joe’s sadistic deeds, and wants him to succeed (think Michael Myers, Freddie Krueger, or Jason Voorhees).

This Night’s main attraction is undoubtedly its color sequence, providing a stark visual contrast to Coffin Joe’s black-and-white world. When he learns that he’s killed a pregnant woman (who cursed him before she expired), he fears some form of divine punishment (despite his professed atheism). In the midst of a nightmare, he’s dragged off to Hell by a gangly, faceless demon, where he meets his ultimate fate. Not since The Wizard of Oz has there been such a jarring, eye-opening cinematic experience. Of course, since it’s Marins’ movie, instead of a fanciful technicolor Oz with prancing munchkins, we get his version of Hell, filled with demons carrying pitchforks, exacting torments a’plenty. Besides Coffin Joe, Marins appears in a dual role, as Satan himself, seated on a throne and presiding over the mayhem. And what a fascinating vision of Hell it is: Rather than the usual clichéd depictions of fire and brimstone, it’s perpetually cold, comprised of white caverns and perpetual snow blowing around.*/** An endless parade of nearly naked people writhing in endless torment, while various body parts emerge from the cavern walls and ceiling. This colorful Hell is more than an arbitrary stylistic flourish. It’s important symbolically, as Coffin Joe is confronted with an experience that contradicts his rigid world view. Seeing Hell sends him into an existential tailspin. 

* Fun Fact #2: In order to simulate snow, the filmmakers used a plentiful and cheap commodity, popcorn. 

** Not-So-Fun Fact #2: According to Marins, the dry ice and smoke created an electrical discharge on the Hell set, causing discomfort for the actors (including himself), lending some unintentional realism to the scene.

The second title in the Coffin Joe trilogy (the disappointing third installment, Embodiment of Evil, was released in 2008) manages to satisfactorily reprise the story of the original, while expanding on its themes and visuals. Not unlike its enigmatic main character, the Coffin Joe films are a contradiction. Marins doesn’t spare us the horrific imagery, but in the spirit of a warped morality play, reminds us Coffin Joe’s detestable acts have dire consequences. Compared to the previous film, it’s a bit overlong, with some pacing issues that slow the middle part down. The bulk of the film is arguably more of the same, as Coffin Joe tortures and murders his way through the village, but the eye-opening Hell sequence alone is worth the price of admission. This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse presents a strangely charismatic yet loathsome horror villain who has few peers. Marins invites us to follow Coffin Joe and his warped ideology, while reminding us how his merciless pursuit of perfection is a futile one. He also prompts us to consider how anyone, no matter how loathsome, can have their own fan club. 

October Quick Picks and Pans – Horror Month 2020

Good Manners (As Boas Maneiras) (2017) In this surprising film by Brazilian writer/director team Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra, Ana (Marjorie Estiano), a young well-to-do pregnant woman hires Clara (Isabél Zuaa) as a personal assistant/nanny. Clara soon finds that her employer has some unusual nocturnal habits, which provide some clues about her unborn child. Good Manners holds its cards close to its chest, taking time to establish the main characters before delving into the more fantastical elements of the second half. The filmmakers employ a blend of visual styles and tones (including some brief musical interludes), weaving its tale of unselfish love and personal sacrifice. As in many werewolf movies (the creature is brought to life through a skillful combination of animatronics and CGI), there’s a tragic, fatalistic streak that runs throughout, about the immutability of changing one’s nature. It’s better not to know too much about this film going in, instead allowing the melancholy story to unfold.

 Rating: ****. Available on DVD and Kanopy

 

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018) “Horror Times,” a YouTube-style channel exploring the most haunted places on earth, sets its sights on an abandoned mental hospital (where multiple unexplained deaths occurred), considered one of the most haunted places on Earth. In an effort to get 1 million viewers, the host/show director Ha-Joon (Ha-Joon Wi) stacks the deck by staging some paranormal occurrences. He didn’t consider, however, that the restless spirits in the place would create their own disturbances for his team of investigators. Soon, Ha-Joon and the other team members are in a desperate struggle for their sanity and their lives. Director/co-writer Beom-sik Jeong’s found footage horror movie starts out light in tone, getting progressively tense as it approaches a grim conclusion. While, the individual components of the film are nothing new, it’s an intense experience that provides some genuine scares. See it before the inevitable American remake.

Rating: ***½. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Amazon Prime

Popcorn (1991) This playful, affectionate ode to B-horror flicks and William Castle-esque gimmicks prefigures Joe Dante’s Matinee (1994) by a few years.  Ray Walston appears (in a cameo role) as Dr. Mnesyne, movie memorabilia collector extraordinaire. He provides vintage props for a group of college film students staging a movie marathon fundraiser. Unfortunately for the students, a homicidal maniac has other plans, as he lurks about the old movie house, picking off people one by one. As we soon discover, the killer has a vested interest in Maggie (Jill Schoelen), one of the student organizers. Popcorn never takes itself too seriously, seemingly anticipating the many self-referential horror films that followed in its wake. Some of the most enjoyable elements in the film are the “let’s put on a show” aesthetic, as well as the clever ‘50s-style parodies within the movie (which would make great features by themselves).

 Rating: ***½. Available on Blu-ray and DVD

Veerana (1988) This energetic film from purveyors of Bollywood horror, Shyam and Tulsi Ramsay, pushed the boundaries of what Indian censors would allow (it would probably be a PG in the States). After the succubus Nakita (Roy Kamal) is destroyed, an evil sorcerer (Rajesh Vivek) attempts to resurrect her spirit, placing a curse on a local family. He plans to bring her back through the family’s daughter Jasmine (Jasmin). The possessed young woman follows in Nakita’s footsteps, luring naïve men to their doom. Of course, there’s plenty of time for song and dance numbers, which have little to do with the plot, and pad out the running time. But fear not, dear reader; you never have to wait too long before something else occurs. There’s more going on in the opening credits sequence than most other movies. Veerana has something for everyone, with action, drama, suspense, romance, horror, gore, music and (bad) comedy.

Rating: ***½. Available on DVD (included in The Bollywood Horror Collection, Volume 2)

Hex (aka: Xie) (1980) In this demonic horror, Shaw Brothers style, a loutish, alcoholic man conspires with his mistress (posing as a servant) to scare his ailing wife to death. All goes as planned, until his deceased wife returns to punish the two lovers. Director/co-writer Chih-Hung Kuei’s film has several jarring tonal shifts, in which the drama with the abusive husband suddenly lapses into comedy. Also, if some of the musical cues sound suspiciously familiar, your ears aren’t deceiving you (some snippets of the soundtrack appear to have been lifted from Alien and Star Trek: The Motion Picture). It’s difficult to have sympathy for the unscrupulous couple’s dilemma, but it sets up the film’s most memorable final sequence, when a Taoist shaman attempts to exorcise the spell. Filled with style and detailed sets, it’s well worth a look, if you can find a copy.

Rating: ***. Available on Blu-ray (Region B) and DVD (Region 2/3)

 

The Living Corpse (aka: Zinda Laash) (1967) Here’s a rarity, a Pakistani retelling of Dracula, thought lost for decades. Luckily for us, it’s been restored for future generations to enjoy. A mad scientist (Rehan) develops an elixir of life and tests it on himself. From that point onward, the movie more or less follows Bram Stoker’s story (albeit in a modern-day setting), as he becomes a bloodthirsty vampire. The filmmakers were obviously taking notes from Hammer’s version, rather than the Universal film, with Rehan’s more visceral take on the vampire. When he makes his entrance, walking down a staircase, it’s easy to imagine Christopher Lee following the same steps. On the other hand, The Living Corpse has some touches Stoker and Hammer never thought of, including several jaunty song and dance numbers (Also, the opening credits sequence inexplicably uses “La Cucaracha.”). In this version, the antagonist doesn’t transform into a bat. Instead of a ghostly carriage, he traverses point A to point B in a car. If you can accept the creaky set design and sillier aspects, it’s a fun repurposing of Stoker’s enduring character, worthy of re-discovery.

Rating: ***. Available on DVD

Even the Wind is Afraid (aka: Hasta el Viento Tiene Miedo) (1968) In this gothic Mexican supernatural mystery from writer/director Carlos Enrique Taboada, Claudia (Alicia Bonet), a girl at an exclusive prep school is haunted by the ghost of a former student who died under mysterious circumstances. Much to her dismay, she has a tough time convincing her fellow classmates (all of whom are portrayed by actresses in their 20s) or the stern headmistress (Marga López). Only the elderly groundskeeper Diego (Rafael Llamas, with fake gray hair) seems to believe her. It’s rather slow-paced but there are some tense scenes throughout, and an impromptu strip-tease livens things up. Although it’s short on action, it’s a great looking, atmospheric thriller, worth checking out.

Rating: ***. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Tubi

Frankenstein 1970 (1958) A film crew prepares to shoot a horror movie in the real-life Frankenstein’s castle, home of the last living heir of the infamous scientist (Boris Karloff). We soon discover that the not so good doctor has ulterior motives, as the filmmakers disappear one by one. Despite the meta-possibilities of the premise, the majority of the movie is slow and plodding, much like the titular creature. An inordinate amount of time is wasted on a pointless subplot about the director’s ex-wife/screenwriter and a new starlet. Even though the material is less than inspiring, Karloff, ever the consummate professional, gives a quality performance as the ethically challenged mad scientist, obsessed with continuing the experiments of his ancestors. It’s not as bad as some reviews would lead you to believe, but it’s not good, either. For Karloff completists only.

Rating: **½. Available on Blu-ray and DVD

Vampyres (1974) Two shapely vampire women (Marianne Morris and Anulka Dziubinska, sans fangs) lure men, via hitchhiking, to their crumbling mansion, where they seduce them and drain them of their blood. Meanwhile, a couple camping in a trailer speculate about the strange goings-on in the nearby estate. There isn’t much to justify the film, with its weak plot and paper-thin story. The main characters are naked a lot, and the male characters are uniformly unlikable and condescending (I doubt anyone would mourn their passing). Ultimately, this pointless, exploitive exercise just reminded me of a British version of a Jean Rollin film or 1971’s Daughters of Darkness (albeit with less style, and making about as much sense).

Rating: **. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Tubi