The Strange Hostel of Naked Pleasures

While watching this movie, my doorbell rang. I ran to the door, hoping it was Coffin Joe there to show me MY death, thereby saving me from watching the rest of this awful movie. Alas, it was the pizza guy, and he didn't have a gun that shot sparkles. I gave him a twenty and told him to keep the change, but he didn't say anything profound like "the change shall be kept, but the change kept within your soul will be your change", or anything. He just said, "thanks." What a bummer. Last time I order from that place.

Anyway, I wanted to watch until the end, but that orgy scene - the LEAST erotic scene ever shown on film (unless skinny, pale, hairy Brazilian guys in bikini briefs swilling vodka and saying sexy things like "let's make love" turns you on) - caused me to switch off. Honestly, this movie is a LITTLE bit funny...but it drags on for so long that the camp/humor is drained. And it's only 80 minutes! Just awful.

Generally speaking, I am a fan of the iconic Brazilian Horror filmmaker José Mojica Marins and his most famous creation and alter ego Zé do Caixão aka. Coffin Joe. I liked the first two Coffin Joe films "À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma" ("At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul") and "Esta Noite Encarnarei no Teu Cadáver" ("This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse") (both from 1964) and I absolutely loved the third film "O Estranho Mundo de Zé do Caixão" ("The Strange World of Coffin Joe") of 1968, which is a morbid anthology in which the eponymous gravedigger only gives an introduction. The fourth (sorta) Coffin Joe feature "O Ridual Dos Sádicos" ("Awakening of the Beast", 1970) already bored me, and I regret to say that I hated this film. "A Estranha Hospedaria dos Prazeres" aka. "The Strange Hostel of Naked Pleasures" (1976) is an insufferably boring affair that is not saved by its unintentional (?) fun-factor, since it just drags and drags way too slowly to be fun to watch. After a never-ending bizarre sequence in the beginning, Zé Do Caixão is apparently not looking for a woman to bear him a son any longer, but has opened a hostel in which, naturally, strange things are going on...

Seriously, "The Strange Hostel of Naked Pleasures" is an excruciatingly tiresome affair. The orgy scene in which a bunch of people in red speedos are yelling "Everybody Naked! Great" for about ten minutes must be one of the least erotic sex scenes ever filmed. A few outburst of morbidity are not nearly enough to make the film watchable. The first three Coffin Joe films (especially the third) were incredibly macabre and controversial for their time. This one really isn't. I have no idea why this is labeled an "Adult" film on IMDb; there is no pornography involved, the film isn't more explicit than any other 70s Exploitation film. I seriously hope that the four remaining films in my 9-film Coffin Joe DVD-Box are going to be better than this one, and preferably more like the first three. 2.5 out of 10 for the cult-value. Overall, one to avoid.

This film was my introduction to José Mojica Marins. I don't know that I'm interested in seeing any of his other works after watching this one. My understanding is that the coffin Joe movies might be worth a watch, but unless I really have nothing better to do, I will likely pass.

In this movie, the uni-browed proprietor of the hostel also is a philosopher, but not a good one unfortunately. It got rather old quickly. He likes to talk in riddles. He has a variety of guests show up at his hotel, including gamblers, couples, biker hippies and others. The hippies decide to have an orgy, however, I will say that those are some of the ugliest women I have ever seen - everybody naked, not so great.

"The Strange Hostel of Naked Pleasures' is not really a horror film although parts have a horror feel. It doesn't really have a plot per se, and it seems that it was going for some sort of arty feel. To me, it was just strange. If IMDb had ratings for absolute weirdness, this one would get a 10 for sure. If close ups of eyeballs is your thing, you'll find plenty of that here. The soundtrack was also odd and quite jarring in places (Hallelujah Chorus, anyone?).

The print I saw was choppy, however, this might have been intentional when taken in context with the rest of the movie. It is also subtitled, but it appears that some lines didn't translate over well. They didn't make any sense but that might be intentional too.

I'd recommend a pass unless you are looking for a truly weird and rather boring film - even then, you may not find it worth your while. If you are looking for a good horror film, for sure give it a pass.

The Strange Hostel of Naked Pleasures, directed by Brazilian horror filmmaker José Mojica Marins (also known as Zé do Caixão), presents a perplexing and disjointed narrative. Although it features many typical elements of Marins' horror cinema, such as macabre monologues, twisted sexual scenes, and sadistic violence, the execution falls short. Let's delve into the eerie inn where time stands still and guests face their eternal torment.

The film opens with a surreal sequence: dancing women, monkey-like figures, and native Brazilian drummers. An old man chants over a closed coffin, and a mysterious man rises from it-top hat, cape, and long fingernails in tow. At the isolated "Hospedaria dos Prazeres" (Hostel of Pleasures), the proprietor invites guests to stay during a tempestuous storm. Among them are drunken bohemian motorcyclists, an adulterous couple, a suicidal man, and more. As the night unfolds, they discover their watches all display midnight, and the proprietor reveals gruesome scenes of their deaths before midnight-a chilling punishment where time ceases to exist.

Despite its intriguing premise, The Strange Hostel of Naked Pleasures disappoints. The film lacks coherence, dragging with repetition and a slow pace. Practically nothing happens until the final revelation, leaving viewers wondering why such an inexplicable establishment exists. While I appreciate some aspects, including the atmospheric setting, the overall experience falls flat.

A very chilling movie, which starts with a crazy and surrealist dance, where naked women dance all over, and old men scream towards the sky. Then a coffin has dragged open, and a man (Coffin Joe?) is broad back to life. Then the story goes to an eerie hostel, where all kinds of men come in one stormy night. Coffin Joe tells the visitors some very strange stuff like "All thats nothing will be everything" (???!). The moody story ends up in a knockdown-ending, but the story still continues veery eerie for its last a couple of minutes. Lots of violence, and corny nudity, its normaly regarded as pure exploitation trash. But if you look it, in another way, its a masterpiece of eerie horror-movies. *** out of ****, or *½ out of ****. You see it, then decide.