***MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***(Mild)
I saw "Coffin Joe: At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul" last Friday (1/12/07) on IFC's new "Grindhouse". I have to say that I laughed my ass off through the whole picture. Notbecause it was dumb or not an authentic horror film, I'm sure is was quite frightening in 1964 and probably the first horror film made in Brazil. What was so amusing to me was the character of Coffin Joe,known to the townspeople as "Ze do Caixao". Director, writer and star Jose Mojica Marins created one of the most memorable characters that I've ever seen in horror films, or any films for that matter. At the beginning of the film, we are warned by a gypsy fortune teller to leave the theater if you are not sure of your courage, after 2 minutes she says "too late! it's midnight! stay if you think you are brave!" The story opens on a Friday night when the Catholic tradition is to abstain from meat, I believe that Brazil is almost exclusively Catholic. So, Coffin Joe being an atheist, sits at his window eating a leg of lamb and laughing as he watches the Catholic precession go by, SO EVIL! Later at the local tavern he forces a local to eat from another leg of lamb. Soon his sins become much larger and murder is just one of them. I loved the camera work, especially the close ups of Joe's eyes with one eyebrow raised. Joe is the town's undertaker, funeral director, and gravedigger all in one, and dresses in a black suit with a cape and a top-hat. Joe/Jose's long curled fingernails (real), complete the picture! I recommend this film to anyone who loves camp or open to the bizarre!
