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The
films of José Mojica Marins were almost completely unknown
to English-speaking horror fans until 1993, when Something Weird
Video imported several of them from Brazil to North America.
Thus genre aficionados in the U.S. were introduced to Marins'
evil character Zé do Caixao. In Brazil he'd long been
the national bogeyman, with not just film and TV show appearances
but also comic books and radio shows relating tales of his dark
deeds. Dubbed "Coffin Joe" by Something Weird's subtitle
writers, the more correct translation of Zé's name would
be "Joseph the Grave" — but as catchy monster monikers
go they hit one out of the park. The Coffin Joe films took cult
horror film fans by storm. It soon became hip not just to have
seen the movies but to be able to quote snatches of their vicious
dialog. Truly odd films, they show the influence of the Universal
classic monster movies, Republic serials, pulp fiction and romantic
melodramas in almost equal measure. Marins seems to have made
these films for no audience other than himself. They're very
much the vision of one man and it's demonstrated in every scene.
The idiosyncratic twists of these films are spellbinding. Joe
is seen as nearly a force of nature, with no human office capable
of stopping or even standing up to his towering will. Marins
plays the character himself, adding that much more mystique
to the stories. (It becomes possible to wonder how much of the
malicious violence on screen bubbles underneath the director's
smiling face.) Coffin Joe is shown as relentlessly cruel to
everyone he meets with almost no redeeming qualities on view.
Even when, in rare moments, he does something kind his motivations
are dark and depraved, as when he chastises a father for mistreating
his son — exhorting him to treat his child well because the
boy is, quote, the "continuity of your blood." Venturing
into the cinematic world of Coffin Joe isn't for everyone. But
for those who take the journey there are many disturbing delights.
At
Midnight I'll Take Your Soul
takes place in a small South American village where Zé
do Caixao is the local gravedigger. Sporting a top hat and cape,
he has an oppressive hold over the inhabitants of the town who
obviously fear doing anything to anger him. He demonstrates
his cruelty repeatedly by beating and whipping people for no
real reason (or for a spurious one thought up for pure amusement).
Zé is obsessed with one idea only — to have a son who'll
continue his bloodline. Slowly it is revealed that his wife
Lenita (Valeria Vasquez) is barren and a bitter disappointment
to him. He decides to end her "worthless" life so
he can find another woman to bear him a child. After chloroforming
her, Ze causes a poisonous spider to bite her clearing the way
for him to pursue his best friend's fiancée Terezinha (Magda
Mei). (I know it seems strange that this sick guy could have
a best friend but I guess everyone is loved by somebody.)
Disposing of buddy Antonio (Nivaldo de Lima) by drowning, he
comforts the poor heartbroken fiancée carefully at first but
with increasing persistence. Then, on the night of Antonio's
funeral, Zé loses control and rapes Terezinha, telling
her his plans for her to give him a son. Disgusted with herself
and shattered by what's happened to her life the poor woman
kills herself. Shocked by Terezinha's suicide, Zé begins
to become more and more erratic until he finally meets his comeuppance
from a righteous and supernatural force.
Since
Brazil is a strongly Catholic country some of the very blasphemous
things Coffin Joe does are much more horrific to the original
audience than to others. For instance, the sight of Zé
eating meat on holy Friday and forcing another poor soul to
do the same is just not as astounding as seeing him cut off
a gambler's finger with a broken bottle. I understand the sacrilegious
act but I'm not bothered by it. Also I'm amazed at Zé's
own superstitious fears that show themselves when he begins
to be plagued by a gypsy woman's curses. But strangely it is
this sense of looking at something completely different that
may be one of the reasons I really enjoy this film and the subsequent
Coffin Joe movies. For me they are like looking inside an alien
culture and discovering that what scares and mystifies the people
of that culture often (but not always) has the same effect on
me. Shot in black and white it's easy to lose myself in the
otherworldliness of the film and buy into it on an almost primal,
fairly tale level where larger truths are couched in symbol
and allegory. It's possible to see Zé not just as a cruel,
unfeeling monster but as an aspect of the selfish human will
to live on at any cost, even after death. That, or I could just
be drinking too much when I watch these damned movies.
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At
any rate Fantoma has done an exemplary job of bringing Coffin
Joe to DVD. At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul
is presented in all its glorious evil with a 1.66:1 widescreen
transfer from the original 35mm negative and I don’t think the
film will ever look better on home video. True, the image is not
as sharp at times as one might hope but when the films age and
budget constraints are taken into account the presentation is
remarkable. My one real complaint is with the audio, which for
the first half has an odd crackling that I wish had been filtered
out. Still, this is a solid step or two up from the old Something
Weird VHS editions and possibly the last word in polishing the
film without ruining the image. The film is in its original Portuguese
language with optional English subtitles. These new subtitles
are also an improvement over the old tape's, removing some of
the more awkward moments in the translation. I would have been
happy with just this wonderful looking copy of the film but Fantoma
has added some nice extras starting with a new 9 minute interview
with José Mojica Marins himself. Looking spry for his advanced
years and still sporting the insanely long fingernails he cultivated
to play Zé do Caixao, Mr. Marins holds forth on the making
of the film and the nightmare that gave him the idea for his signature
creation. I wish this interview had been a bit longer with Marins
possibly discussing the religious concepts in the movie and his
feelings on Zé's longevity, but I'm glad to have what's
here.
Elsewhere on the disc are the theatrical trailers for this film,
its sequel This Night I'll Possess
Your Corpse and the later Coffin Joe film, Awakening
of the Beast. It's no coincidence that these are the three
Marins films Fantoma has released on DVD and the trailers do a
very good job of enticing a further look into the world of Coffin
Joe. The final and most fascinating extra is a booklet-sized English
translation of an issue of the black and white Brazilian comic
book The Strange World of Zé Do Caixao. A complete
surprise, this is one of the better DVD bonuses I've ever come
across. The single story inside ("Black Night") was
written by Marins and will appeal to fans of the old EC comics.
Ze narrates the tale and is represented by photos in the artwork
instead of being drawn by the quite capable artist. Altogether
a very pleasing DVD package with little to complain about.
Now Fantoma needs to get their hands on more
of the Coffin Joe movies... because I really want a sharp copy
of The Bloody Exorcism of Coffin Joe.
I'm just a glutton for punishment! 6/08/03 |
