Following up the success of his first appearance as Coffin Joe, Mojica filmed the second part of his horror trilogy with his character. The story starts exactly where the first movie left off, with Coffin Joe surviving the supernatural attack of the first movie. Being absolved of the crimes he commited, he returns to his city, still in search of the ideal woman to bear him a perfect son, this time aided by the hunchback servant Bruno. Joe kidnaps and tests several women who may prove worthy of bearing his offspring. All of them fail, and as they are being eliminated (with real live snakes!) a curse is set upon Coffin Joe...a curse that will make the funeral agent see hell in colour! A more ambitious follow-up for the first movie, "This night" suffered cuts and alterations on its dialogues by the military dictatorship censors prior to its release in Brazil. The coloured sequence of Joe's descent into hell (the rest of the movie was shot in B&W) are a fine example of the best that Mojica's cinema has to offer: brilliant, raw ideas on a shoestring budget.
30 Reviews
"The Most Perfect Thing in Nature: Children. Pity That They Grow Up To Be Idiots." - Coffin Joe Is Back!
Witchfinder-General-66623 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Coffin Joe detests everything and everybody, but he obviously has a soft spot for children, the "most prefect creation of nature" as he proclaims in this film. "Esta Noite Encarnarei no Teu Cadáver" aka. "This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse" (1967) is the second film about the crazed Zé do Caixão (aka. Coffin Joe), who only lives for one goal - finding the perfect woman to bear him the perfect son... a goal which he pursues in a highly unorthodox manner. Single-handedly created by José Mojica Marins, (who serves as writer, director and leading man), Zé do Caixão - a deranged black-clad gravedigger who sports a full-beard, a mono-brow, a top hat, a cape and extremely long fingernails, is (as far as I know) Brazil's one and only genuine Horror character. Coffin Joe pretty much personifies Brazilian Horror cinema - Kudos to José Mojica Marins for that! The films as such aren't exactly masterpieces, but they are highly bizarre and enjoyable cult gems. The first film, "À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma" ("At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul", 1964) was already fun to watch, and furthermore has to be respected for starting the trend, but this first sequel is even a lot more enjoyable in my opinion.
Feared by his entire village, the deranged undertaker Zé do Caixão (Mojica Marins) is cleared at court of the gruesome crimes he has committed in the last film. His freedom gives him the opportunity to return to his village and further pursue his goal - finding the perfect woman to bear him a son. Obsessed with finding the perfect woman to continue his bloodline, the sadistic gravedigger kidnaps a bunch of beautiful young women, whose worthiness he tests by gruesome rituals and sadistic tortures. (All that in spite of the fact that the two hottest women, who are also the only 'worthy' ones in his eyes, fall for him voluntarily). In the meanwhile, the villagers, whom Zé despises for being religious and superstitious, are getting more and more enraged about the disappearances of young beauties, and plan to take action against the villain in their midst...
The story is extremely bizarre, and logic should not be expected, but that's also what makes this film unique and a pleasure to watch. While he only wanted a son in the first film, Zé do Caixão is now obsessed with finding a perfect woman, in order to bear him a perfect son and start a perfect race. For some reason, he kidnaps a variety of girls, although the two hottest ones are in love with him anyway. He murders a bunch of people, and mocks superstition, only to feel haunted by his victims thereafter. Coffin Joe hates and despises everybody, except children, whom he apparently loves and values as the most precious and perfect creatures in the world - which is an unexpected character trait for a villain of the kind. Overall, this one's plot and characters are weird, weird, WEIRD - and delightfully weird, that is. The budget was still low, but obviously higher than in the first part, which allowed Mojica Marins to throw in some gruesome (and surprisingly well-done) gore effects, as well as sleaze and female nudity. The film is shot in black and white, except for one AWESOME 'Hell'-sequence which is in color.
I wouldn't call this film brilliant, but it has an inimitable bizarre charm that more or less makes it a must-see for cult-cinema fans. Coffin Joe IS Brazilian Horror, and that alone makes the films essential for genre-lovers. By the way, José Mojica Marins, now in his 70s, made another film about Coffin Joe as recently as 2008, in which our favorite psychopathic gravedigger is once again searching for the perfect woman to bear him a son. Kudos for such willpower!
Feared by his entire village, the deranged undertaker Zé do Caixão (Mojica Marins) is cleared at court of the gruesome crimes he has committed in the last film. His freedom gives him the opportunity to return to his village and further pursue his goal - finding the perfect woman to bear him a son. Obsessed with finding the perfect woman to continue his bloodline, the sadistic gravedigger kidnaps a bunch of beautiful young women, whose worthiness he tests by gruesome rituals and sadistic tortures. (All that in spite of the fact that the two hottest women, who are also the only 'worthy' ones in his eyes, fall for him voluntarily). In the meanwhile, the villagers, whom Zé despises for being religious and superstitious, are getting more and more enraged about the disappearances of young beauties, and plan to take action against the villain in their midst...
The story is extremely bizarre, and logic should not be expected, but that's also what makes this film unique and a pleasure to watch. While he only wanted a son in the first film, Zé do Caixão is now obsessed with finding a perfect woman, in order to bear him a perfect son and start a perfect race. For some reason, he kidnaps a variety of girls, although the two hottest ones are in love with him anyway. He murders a bunch of people, and mocks superstition, only to feel haunted by his victims thereafter. Coffin Joe hates and despises everybody, except children, whom he apparently loves and values as the most precious and perfect creatures in the world - which is an unexpected character trait for a villain of the kind. Overall, this one's plot and characters are weird, weird, WEIRD - and delightfully weird, that is. The budget was still low, but obviously higher than in the first part, which allowed Mojica Marins to throw in some gruesome (and surprisingly well-done) gore effects, as well as sleaze and female nudity. The film is shot in black and white, except for one AWESOME 'Hell'-sequence which is in color.
I wouldn't call this film brilliant, but it has an inimitable bizarre charm that more or less makes it a must-see for cult-cinema fans. Coffin Joe IS Brazilian Horror, and that alone makes the films essential for genre-lovers. By the way, José Mojica Marins, now in his 70s, made another film about Coffin Joe as recently as 2008, in which our favorite psychopathic gravedigger is once again searching for the perfect woman to bear him a son. Kudos for such willpower!
The Citizen Kane of strange low budget Brazilian Horror movies!
NateManD12 August 2005
Hose Mojica Marins is definitely a director whose films are many times overlooked. His character Coffin Joe is almost like the Freddy or Jason of Brazil. "This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse" is the second Coffin Joe film. After the evil undertaker has been cleared of his crimes, he's back to causing trouble yet again. He kidnaps beautiful women and looks to impregnate one of them to start a perfect race. After the ladies get tormented by spiders and snakes he kills them, leaving only one lady. What makes this scene horrifying is the 100 snakes and spiders that the actresses had to endure. The ghost of the one women vows to return from the dead and take vengeance on him, or is it just his imagination? It's never quite clear. Coffin Joe is an angry atheist who finally finds his evil mate which is the colonel's daughter. Even after him and his hunchback assistant smash her brother's head with a rock, she still likes him. She even skips her brother's funeral to get it on with him. The film's most memorable scene is it's surreal psychedelic ten minute Technicolor vision of hell. Death takes Coffin Joe to hell and he sees people scream in agony as they are whipped and tortured. In the scene fire, brimstone and snakes surround him wherever he goes. "This Night I'll Possess your Corpse" is chilling, gory, bizarre and subversive in it's religious and social themes. It's definitely a classic work of Brazialian cinema that deserves more attention.
Quality psychotronic madness from José Mojica Marins
Red-Barracuda13 February 2012
This sequel to At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul once again stars Coffin Joe as the devilish gravedigger. It starts off where the last film ended with our anti-hero found to still be alive, he is taken back to stand trial for his crimes and is found innocent despite the fact that he committed his misdeeds in public for all to see! Anyway he now seeks a woman to bear him a child. To achieve this he captures several girls and kills most of them. It may sound straightforward but really the story-line is most bizarre and senseless. But this is the world of Coffin Joe and nothing else can really be expected to be perfectly honest.
In my view this sequel is better than the original. There are several reasons for this. For one thing José Mojica Marins has developed as a film-maker. He seems to have a – slightly – higher budget and this is used to expand things a little with better set-pieces and a great scene where Coffin Joe descends into Hell. This sequence breaks the black and white presentation and is shown in psychedelic colours. Marins depiction of Hell is highly imaginative and surreal with much grotesquery and sadism. Additionally, the movie does seem to be paced better than the first instalment despite being twenty odd minutes longer. It's also a fair bit gorier and sleazier as well. Coffin Joe dispatches with several of his enemies in a bloody manner by axe, boulder and shoe-applied razors! He also treats a gaggle of women very badly indeed with extended scenes involving lots of big spiders crawling all over then and then a group of angry looking snakes fulfilling a similar end.
It's a wild concoction for sure. It may well be a very low budget film but Marins makes the most of what he's got. And he does, after all, remain the only true Brazilian horror director, so on that basis alone his work is fascinating in itself. Perhaps as a reaction to his country's religious beliefs Coffin Joe constantly rails against theocracy and is a committed atheist. This, alongside his unexpected love of children, is a most bizarre trait for a horror villain and provides an original subtext to proceedings. At Midnight I'll Possess Your Corpse is certainly a film for the attention of cult film fanatics that's for sure.
In my view this sequel is better than the original. There are several reasons for this. For one thing José Mojica Marins has developed as a film-maker. He seems to have a – slightly – higher budget and this is used to expand things a little with better set-pieces and a great scene where Coffin Joe descends into Hell. This sequence breaks the black and white presentation and is shown in psychedelic colours. Marins depiction of Hell is highly imaginative and surreal with much grotesquery and sadism. Additionally, the movie does seem to be paced better than the first instalment despite being twenty odd minutes longer. It's also a fair bit gorier and sleazier as well. Coffin Joe dispatches with several of his enemies in a bloody manner by axe, boulder and shoe-applied razors! He also treats a gaggle of women very badly indeed with extended scenes involving lots of big spiders crawling all over then and then a group of angry looking snakes fulfilling a similar end.
It's a wild concoction for sure. It may well be a very low budget film but Marins makes the most of what he's got. And he does, after all, remain the only true Brazilian horror director, so on that basis alone his work is fascinating in itself. Perhaps as a reaction to his country's religious beliefs Coffin Joe constantly rails against theocracy and is a committed atheist. This, alongside his unexpected love of children, is a most bizarre trait for a horror villain and provides an original subtext to proceedings. At Midnight I'll Possess Your Corpse is certainly a film for the attention of cult film fanatics that's for sure.
Spectacular follow-up to At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul!
The_Void5 July 2006
As most people reading this will already know, This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse is Coffin Joe's follow-up to the excellent At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, and as good as the first film was; for my money, this one is even better! The legendary Brazilian comic book character may be cheesy, and José Mojica Marins' films may be cheap and silly; but he certainly has an eye for horror and this film features everything that made the first film great - and more! Once again, we have a plot without meaning, although there is some direction this time as Coffin Joe steps up his chase to find a woman to bear him a child. He doesn't go the direct route, however - and we get treated to scenes of torture as well as Coffin Joe preaching to his audience about the non-existence of God. The film works in spite of the ending of the first film, which is passed off by way of Coffin Joe being nursed back to health by the people he terrorises, before being cleared of his crimes on the grounds of 'lack of evidence'...even though most of them were committed in front of a crowd of people. Still, it's all in good fun!
With a name like Coffin Joe, you've got to expect the man to have an eye for horror - and the director delights in packing his film with delicious horror imagery, from spiders and snakes to skulls and deformed assistants! The wayward plot once again allows the director to do pretty much anything he likes - and for a man with so many ideas, this certainly isn't a bad thing. Despite a running time of nearly two hours, Coffin Joe's film never becomes boring or trite, and just when you think that the film can't possibly deliver any more surprises; Marins throws in a delightful colour sequence that takes place in Hell! The dialogue is once again a stand-out aspect of the film, as hearing Coffin Joe preach his own set of beliefs never becomes boring and the actor clearly delights in delivering them. The eerie atmosphere is always welcome, and the fact that the film is so clearly designed for entertainment is of huge benefit to it. I'll close this review with a word of warning; do not see this film unless you've seen At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, but once you have seen said movie - this one becomes must see!
With a name like Coffin Joe, you've got to expect the man to have an eye for horror - and the director delights in packing his film with delicious horror imagery, from spiders and snakes to skulls and deformed assistants! The wayward plot once again allows the director to do pretty much anything he likes - and for a man with so many ideas, this certainly isn't a bad thing. Despite a running time of nearly two hours, Coffin Joe's film never becomes boring or trite, and just when you think that the film can't possibly deliver any more surprises; Marins throws in a delightful colour sequence that takes place in Hell! The dialogue is once again a stand-out aspect of the film, as hearing Coffin Joe preach his own set of beliefs never becomes boring and the actor clearly delights in delivering them. The eerie atmosphere is always welcome, and the fact that the film is so clearly designed for entertainment is of huge benefit to it. I'll close this review with a word of warning; do not see this film unless you've seen At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, but once you have seen said movie - this one becomes must see!
This Night I'll Pluck Your Mono-brow.
BA_Harrison2 June 2015
This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse, the sequel to director José Mojica Marins' cult horror At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul (1963), sees the return of amoral, blasphemous gravedigger Zé do Caixão (José Mojica Marins), who, having recovered from his seemingly fatal supernatural ordeal in the first film, and having been absolved of all past crimes, returns to his village to continue his quest to find the perfect woman to bear him a son.
Aided by disfigured hunchback Bruno (Jose Lobo), Zé abducts six sexy women, whom he subjects to a horrific trial by spider (this scene is an arachnophobe's nightmare!) to determine their suitability as mates. Only one woman, Marcia (Nadia Freitas), passes the test, but—just a little upset by the fact that the other five women are subsequently killed—she refuses to make love to Zé. He surmises that she is not the superior specimen he believed her to be, but allows her to go free.
Eventually, despite his silly cape, stupid hat, obscenely long fingernails, AND a most magnificent mono-brow, Zé somehow wins the heart of local babe Laura (Tina Wohlers), who is only too willing to have his child. But things don't go smoothly for the twisted loon: he suffers from hellish nightmares after discovering that one of the women he killed was pregnant, goes even more crazy when Laura and his unborn son suddenly pop their clogs, and is captured and beaten by muscle-man Truncador (Antonio Fracari) and his pals, before being pursued by Laura's father and a bloodthirsty mob into a swamp, where he drowns.
Several exploitative scenes of sadism and gory violence, some gratuitous nudity, and an ambitious, surreal, multi-coloured nightmare sequence all go to make This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse marginally more enjoyable than the disappointing first movie, but overall it still proves something of a chore to sit through thanks to the fact that much of its 108 minute running time consists of Zé's interminably dull ranting about the nonexistence of God and his plans to create the perfect child.
Aided by disfigured hunchback Bruno (Jose Lobo), Zé abducts six sexy women, whom he subjects to a horrific trial by spider (this scene is an arachnophobe's nightmare!) to determine their suitability as mates. Only one woman, Marcia (Nadia Freitas), passes the test, but—just a little upset by the fact that the other five women are subsequently killed—she refuses to make love to Zé. He surmises that she is not the superior specimen he believed her to be, but allows her to go free.
Eventually, despite his silly cape, stupid hat, obscenely long fingernails, AND a most magnificent mono-brow, Zé somehow wins the heart of local babe Laura (Tina Wohlers), who is only too willing to have his child. But things don't go smoothly for the twisted loon: he suffers from hellish nightmares after discovering that one of the women he killed was pregnant, goes even more crazy when Laura and his unborn son suddenly pop their clogs, and is captured and beaten by muscle-man Truncador (Antonio Fracari) and his pals, before being pursued by Laura's father and a bloodthirsty mob into a swamp, where he drowns.
Several exploitative scenes of sadism and gory violence, some gratuitous nudity, and an ambitious, surreal, multi-coloured nightmare sequence all go to make This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse marginally more enjoyable than the disappointing first movie, but overall it still proves something of a chore to sit through thanks to the fact that much of its 108 minute running time consists of Zé's interminably dull ranting about the nonexistence of God and his plans to create the perfect child.
Far better sequel to a pretty good first film
slayrrr66620 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
"This Night, I'll Possess Your Corpse" is an even better sequel to an incredible film.
**SPOILERS**
Found after being left for dead, Ze do Caixao, (Jose Mojica Marins) is released for his crimes and returns to his hometown of frightened villagers. Still desperate for a son, he and his hunchbacked assistant Bruno, (Jose Lobo) kidnap six women from the village and launch a series of tortures on them, with the intention of using the one most suitable to him for his quest. Eventually deciding on Laura, (Tina Wohlers) to be his bride, which further angers the town against him. Realizing he has accidentally killed a pregnant woman, he dreams of Hell and shown that he will be damned, but when he learns that he is a father, the town has had enough and sets out to kill him once and for all.
The News: This is the way to do a sequel, with a really entertaining and full-on experience. This one really amps up the exploitation angle from the first one, with several quite sadistic and ingenious set-pieces that are just fun to watch. The spider torture in the bedroom is quite hard to beat, with their slow entrance into the room through a hidden panel in the wall going on for a long period of time. The loving gazes of them slowly crawling over the bodies, carrying over the whole room from one end to another showing each of the victims being in peril from them giving it a fully suspenseful feel to it. Once the realization dawns and the threat is known, seeing where the spiders are on them makes it just the icing on the scene. The dungeon scenes are close behind, as there's no shortage of sadistic scenes in it. The pit of the damned, where the unlucky ones are thrown in and fed to a glut of poisonous snakes is quite tortuous. What pushes it beyond is the small patch in the room that is part of the room above, and the entire sequence is played out as the observers make love to each other with the screaming and cursing from them below in the background. Quite ingenious and totally cruel. This also decides to include some bloodshed into it, with some really tortuous kills. One has their head crushed by a falling rock, there's an ax in the head, razors slice open both sides of the neck, acid burns skin off the face, and a thoroughly agonizing strangulation. This is bloody when it really wants to be. Of course, the major highlight is Zé's nightmare of a trip to Hell and what a psychedelic Hell it is as for the next ten minutes, the film switches to full-color. It really has to be seen to be believed. In this nightmare he stumbles through a Day-Glo cavernous pit in which snow falls while we're witness to muscle-bound demons whip, pitchfork and torture nude people melded into the stalagmites and walls as the sinners writhe and wail out for mercy, all for the merriment of Satan. He sees all these terrible sights and becomes appalled, since this is the refutation of his atheistic beliefs. When he comes to the throne of Hell and finds the ruler seated there, it's too much for him and he's jolted out of sleep screaming maniacally. There's no end to the amount of praise that scene can endure, and is really the highlight of the whole film in every way. Just as the original ended with the spirits of the damned come back to haunt him, this one does it too, but in a much more grander way that is quite entertaining. After learning of his failure, he goes out into the cemetery and begins ranting about the futile efforts of the church to stop him. Plagued by a vision of a past victim who claimed to come back for him, he again claims the failure of the church and heads off into the woods, where he falls prey to himself in front of the villagers come to fight him off. As in the ending of the first one, when the villagers decide to take up arms against him, they learn that even en mass, they have no power over the sinister undertaker. It will be his own actions that undo him. The cemetery is not as spooky and creepy as the first one, but it still works here. Much of his ranting against the church has been stripped away, but there's still enough here to know that it's the same experience over again. A fine example of an entertaining and superior sequel.
The Final Verdict: Just as thought-provoking, entertaining and horrific as the first one, this is the way sequels should be. There's really no complaints amongst this one, and it's a really fun time all around. Seek this one out immediately and give it a watch, no matter what kind of horror fan you are.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity and a couple quick, mild sex scenes
**SPOILERS**
Found after being left for dead, Ze do Caixao, (Jose Mojica Marins) is released for his crimes and returns to his hometown of frightened villagers. Still desperate for a son, he and his hunchbacked assistant Bruno, (Jose Lobo) kidnap six women from the village and launch a series of tortures on them, with the intention of using the one most suitable to him for his quest. Eventually deciding on Laura, (Tina Wohlers) to be his bride, which further angers the town against him. Realizing he has accidentally killed a pregnant woman, he dreams of Hell and shown that he will be damned, but when he learns that he is a father, the town has had enough and sets out to kill him once and for all.
The News: This is the way to do a sequel, with a really entertaining and full-on experience. This one really amps up the exploitation angle from the first one, with several quite sadistic and ingenious set-pieces that are just fun to watch. The spider torture in the bedroom is quite hard to beat, with their slow entrance into the room through a hidden panel in the wall going on for a long period of time. The loving gazes of them slowly crawling over the bodies, carrying over the whole room from one end to another showing each of the victims being in peril from them giving it a fully suspenseful feel to it. Once the realization dawns and the threat is known, seeing where the spiders are on them makes it just the icing on the scene. The dungeon scenes are close behind, as there's no shortage of sadistic scenes in it. The pit of the damned, where the unlucky ones are thrown in and fed to a glut of poisonous snakes is quite tortuous. What pushes it beyond is the small patch in the room that is part of the room above, and the entire sequence is played out as the observers make love to each other with the screaming and cursing from them below in the background. Quite ingenious and totally cruel. This also decides to include some bloodshed into it, with some really tortuous kills. One has their head crushed by a falling rock, there's an ax in the head, razors slice open both sides of the neck, acid burns skin off the face, and a thoroughly agonizing strangulation. This is bloody when it really wants to be. Of course, the major highlight is Zé's nightmare of a trip to Hell and what a psychedelic Hell it is as for the next ten minutes, the film switches to full-color. It really has to be seen to be believed. In this nightmare he stumbles through a Day-Glo cavernous pit in which snow falls while we're witness to muscle-bound demons whip, pitchfork and torture nude people melded into the stalagmites and walls as the sinners writhe and wail out for mercy, all for the merriment of Satan. He sees all these terrible sights and becomes appalled, since this is the refutation of his atheistic beliefs. When he comes to the throne of Hell and finds the ruler seated there, it's too much for him and he's jolted out of sleep screaming maniacally. There's no end to the amount of praise that scene can endure, and is really the highlight of the whole film in every way. Just as the original ended with the spirits of the damned come back to haunt him, this one does it too, but in a much more grander way that is quite entertaining. After learning of his failure, he goes out into the cemetery and begins ranting about the futile efforts of the church to stop him. Plagued by a vision of a past victim who claimed to come back for him, he again claims the failure of the church and heads off into the woods, where he falls prey to himself in front of the villagers come to fight him off. As in the ending of the first one, when the villagers decide to take up arms against him, they learn that even en mass, they have no power over the sinister undertaker. It will be his own actions that undo him. The cemetery is not as spooky and creepy as the first one, but it still works here. Much of his ranting against the church has been stripped away, but there's still enough here to know that it's the same experience over again. A fine example of an entertaining and superior sequel.
The Final Verdict: Just as thought-provoking, entertaining and horrific as the first one, this is the way sequels should be. There's really no complaints amongst this one, and it's a really fun time all around. Seek this one out immediately and give it a watch, no matter what kind of horror fan you are.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity and a couple quick, mild sex scenes
Nice sequel, but not as good as At midnight I will take your soul
guisreis1 June 2021
This sequel lacks a little of noir atmosphere present in At Midnight I will Take Your Soul. It also reinforces more Josefel "Coffin Joe" Zanatas's logics in prejudice of mistery (all spiritual or magic elements in the former movie are proved to be only his imagination and fears): he believes there is no life after death, then the only way to be ethernal is to have offspring. That is why he seeks the most perfect woman possible to give him a child, "a perfect child" or preferably "a perfect son" (she may be not only beautiful but also share his eugenics belief, have no fear, and refuse any religion). There is also why he kills those who he believes that will not generate good children, and why be cares so much about children and particularly babies and fetuses. However, two of the best filmed scenes of his career are from this movie: the curse of Janaína and the sequence from him on his bedroom until his entrance in hell. The portrayal of hell in colour, constrating with black and white cinematography in the rest of the movie, is interesting but not the best moment.
This Night I will Possess Your Corpse
Scarecrow-8820 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
The sadistic atheist Zé do Caixão(José Mojica Marins)returns, this time with a hunchback assistant Bruno(Jose Lobo), still trying to find a woman to bare him a child(this child, he feels will give birth to immortal blood).
Certain women are disappearing and it's obvious who is behind the kidnapping. Zé has chosen these women to determine which is willing to carry his child. He releases spiders on them as they are sleeping as a test of their courage. All the women reply to the spiders with shock but one..that being Marcia(Nadia Freitas). Marcia is chosen while the other women(save one, who becomes Bruno's "birthday present" for which he accidentally snaps her neck when she begins to struggle with him)are placed in a snake-pit to die. Marcia eventually shows a weakness(her love for Zé for which he can not bear..he doesn't like dramatics), but Zé spares her life because she showed courage before. Marcia will remain loyal to Zé for a large period, even assisting him in tricking Truncador, the strongman(Antonio Fracari)who often is out-dueled psychologically by Zé. Eventually, Zé finds his mate and "carrier" of the great child he feels will lead the way of a brand new race of non-believing people who denounce God and embrace life without attachment. Laura(Tina Wohlers), the Colonel's daughter, arrives into town and immediately takes up with Zé. She doesn't believe in anything but Zé and this will be her downfall. Even after Zé crushes Laura's brother's head with a large rock, she still remains just as loyal risking the scorns of others for him. Soon, mental torments plague Zé as the announcement of one of the women he killed in the snake-pit claims she'll return from the dead to get her revenge telling him that he will never have a son born in this world. As tension mounts in the village, Zé will eventually be found out as the killer of the missing women and have to deal with a maddened crowd wanting him dead.
Two problems with this one I had. Laura just arrives and yet having never met Zé before just up and devotes her life and soul to him. It doesn't add up. Another is the snake-pit sequence which isn't very convincing because the actresses portraying the victims attacked don't sell it well. But, the "tortures of hell" nightmare sequence Zé suffers is an unintentional laugh riot. And, the ending is quite heavy-handed, yet eerie at the same time. Still, the film retains it's nasty edge from the previous film and that creepy atmosphere around the graves and forests remains one of the film's main strengths. This film is, however, much more cheesy than the first.
Certain women are disappearing and it's obvious who is behind the kidnapping. Zé has chosen these women to determine which is willing to carry his child. He releases spiders on them as they are sleeping as a test of their courage. All the women reply to the spiders with shock but one..that being Marcia(Nadia Freitas). Marcia is chosen while the other women(save one, who becomes Bruno's "birthday present" for which he accidentally snaps her neck when she begins to struggle with him)are placed in a snake-pit to die. Marcia eventually shows a weakness(her love for Zé for which he can not bear..he doesn't like dramatics), but Zé spares her life because she showed courage before. Marcia will remain loyal to Zé for a large period, even assisting him in tricking Truncador, the strongman(Antonio Fracari)who often is out-dueled psychologically by Zé. Eventually, Zé finds his mate and "carrier" of the great child he feels will lead the way of a brand new race of non-believing people who denounce God and embrace life without attachment. Laura(Tina Wohlers), the Colonel's daughter, arrives into town and immediately takes up with Zé. She doesn't believe in anything but Zé and this will be her downfall. Even after Zé crushes Laura's brother's head with a large rock, she still remains just as loyal risking the scorns of others for him. Soon, mental torments plague Zé as the announcement of one of the women he killed in the snake-pit claims she'll return from the dead to get her revenge telling him that he will never have a son born in this world. As tension mounts in the village, Zé will eventually be found out as the killer of the missing women and have to deal with a maddened crowd wanting him dead.
Two problems with this one I had. Laura just arrives and yet having never met Zé before just up and devotes her life and soul to him. It doesn't add up. Another is the snake-pit sequence which isn't very convincing because the actresses portraying the victims attacked don't sell it well. But, the "tortures of hell" nightmare sequence Zé suffers is an unintentional laugh riot. And, the ending is quite heavy-handed, yet eerie at the same time. Still, the film retains it's nasty edge from the previous film and that creepy atmosphere around the graves and forests remains one of the film's main strengths. This film is, however, much more cheesy than the first.
The Perfect Sequel
claudio_carvalho23 June 2011
Zé do Caixão (José Mojica Marins) survives and is absolved in court from his crimes. He moves to another small town, seeking out the perfect woman to deliver his son. Zé do Caixão and his deformed hunchback minion Bruno (Jose Lobo) abduct six women from the village and he submits them to a creepy experiment, trying to find the future mother of his offspring to keep alive his bloodline. The pregnant Jandira curses him and only Marcia (Nadia Freitas) survives, but Zé do Caixão concludes that she is not a superior woman. When Zé do Caixão sees the newcomer Laura (Tina Wohlers), who is the daughter of the powerful Coronel, he concludes that she is a superior woman and adequate to deliver his offspring. Meanwhile the Coronel asks his henchman Truncador (Antonio Fracari) to hire a gang of criminals to eliminate Zé do Caixão. But the undertaker seems to have a deal with the devil and never dies. However Laura dies with her unborn son and the population joins to expel him from their lands.
"Esta Noite Encarnarei no Teu Cadáver" is the perfect sequel to "À Meia- Noite Levarei Sua Alma". This creepy low-budget black and white film is more ambition than the first one and blends colors in the journey of Zé do Caixão to hell. It is also supported by a good story, performances, effects, dialogs with blasphemy and gore. The contradictory conclusion with the atheist character summoning God does not spoil the film. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Esta Noite Encarnarei no Teu Cadáver" ("This Night I Will Incarnate Your Corpse")
"Esta Noite Encarnarei no Teu Cadáver" is the perfect sequel to "À Meia- Noite Levarei Sua Alma". This creepy low-budget black and white film is more ambition than the first one and blends colors in the journey of Zé do Caixão to hell. It is also supported by a good story, performances, effects, dialogs with blasphemy and gore. The contradictory conclusion with the atheist character summoning God does not spoil the film. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Esta Noite Encarnarei no Teu Cadáver" ("This Night I Will Incarnate Your Corpse")
Coffin Joe is back for an entertaining sequel
tomgillespie20022 October 2018
The idea of going bigger and bolder when tackling the sequel to a surprise hit is nothing new, as evidenced by Jose Mojica Marins' follow-up to cult Brazilian horror classic At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul. The first film managed to achieve cult status in its native country and with anybody lucky enough to see it elsewhere in the world, so director, co-writer and lead star Marins managed to bag a noticeably larger budget and used this to further explore the darkest regions of his mind. The result - the wonderfully-titled This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse - is little more than a shameless re-hash of the previous story, but as a piece of psychedelic gothic horror, it manages to outshine its predecessor in every way. At the end of Midnight, Marins' Ze do Caixao, or 'Coffin Joe', was left for dead by supernatural forces. But now he's back, and more determined than ever to find the perfect bride to carry his child.
While the villagers hid in fear of Joe last time around, they have since grown weary of his superior attitude and suspect him of the many disappearances that took place in their community. However, without sufficient evidence to bring him to trial, Joe is released to carry on with his undertaker duties and his search for the mother of his future son. Assisted this time by a hunchback named Bruno (Jose Lobo), Joe imprisons some of the village's most beautiful young ladies and tests them in order to prove their worthiness. Sadly, the test involves an army of spiders, and while one woman, Marcia (Nadia Freitas), remains calm, the others panic and are thrown into a pit to be killed by snakes. While Marcia is deemed unsuitable to bear his child, she is employed as a spy while Joe sets out to seduce the beautiful Laura (Tina Wohlers), the daughter of a local colonel who shares Joe's twisted outlook and logic.
Marins only stepped into the role of Coffin Joe when the original actor dropped out before the first film started production, but this proved to be a stroke of luck as it's difficult to imagine anybody else donning the top hat, neatly-trimmed beard and grotesque, talon-like fingernails. Joe is more cunning this time around, using his wits to frame a local strongman for the murders and to escape some violent confrontations. A curse placed upon him by one of his victims slowly drives him mad, leading to one of the film's most exceptional set-pieces. In his dreams, Joe journeys into hell, a cesspit of cruelty and torture shot in bold colour (the rest of the picture is grainy black-and-white). Bloody limbs and body parts emerge from the stone walls and poor souls are whipped and beaten continuously is a never-ending carousel of savagery. It's a nightmare that even terrifies Joe, and this segment provides a disturbing window into Marins' imagination. This second entry into the Coffin Joe series moves a mile-a-minute, offering everything from phoney-looking backdrops to smoke-machine special effects as it touches on almost every taboo imaginable, but this excess is all part of its charm, and what makes the world of Ze do Caixao so unique.
While the villagers hid in fear of Joe last time around, they have since grown weary of his superior attitude and suspect him of the many disappearances that took place in their community. However, without sufficient evidence to bring him to trial, Joe is released to carry on with his undertaker duties and his search for the mother of his future son. Assisted this time by a hunchback named Bruno (Jose Lobo), Joe imprisons some of the village's most beautiful young ladies and tests them in order to prove their worthiness. Sadly, the test involves an army of spiders, and while one woman, Marcia (Nadia Freitas), remains calm, the others panic and are thrown into a pit to be killed by snakes. While Marcia is deemed unsuitable to bear his child, she is employed as a spy while Joe sets out to seduce the beautiful Laura (Tina Wohlers), the daughter of a local colonel who shares Joe's twisted outlook and logic.
Marins only stepped into the role of Coffin Joe when the original actor dropped out before the first film started production, but this proved to be a stroke of luck as it's difficult to imagine anybody else donning the top hat, neatly-trimmed beard and grotesque, talon-like fingernails. Joe is more cunning this time around, using his wits to frame a local strongman for the murders and to escape some violent confrontations. A curse placed upon him by one of his victims slowly drives him mad, leading to one of the film's most exceptional set-pieces. In his dreams, Joe journeys into hell, a cesspit of cruelty and torture shot in bold colour (the rest of the picture is grainy black-and-white). Bloody limbs and body parts emerge from the stone walls and poor souls are whipped and beaten continuously is a never-ending carousel of savagery. It's a nightmare that even terrifies Joe, and this segment provides a disturbing window into Marins' imagination. This second entry into the Coffin Joe series moves a mile-a-minute, offering everything from phoney-looking backdrops to smoke-machine special effects as it touches on almost every taboo imaginable, but this excess is all part of its charm, and what makes the world of Ze do Caixao so unique.
"I'll Leave You In The Hands Of Your God!"...
azathothpwiggins21 July 2020
THIS NIGHT I WILL POSSESS YOUR CORPSE is the even more fiendish follow-up to the first film. Escaping death and justice, Coffin Joe (Jose Mojica Marins) returns to his mission of producing a son and heir to his legacy of blasphemous eeevil.
Joe kidnaps 6 women, torturing them with an army of tarantulas, and subjecting the unluckiest ones to a pit of snakes. There's also a head crushing by stone slab for one particular male pest! CORPSE introduces us to Joe's hunchback henchman, Bruno. In addition, we are treated to the infamous, full-color Hell sequence, complete with suffering souls!
Once again, as with the first movie, this is a sadistic, demonic masterpiece...
Joe kidnaps 6 women, torturing them with an army of tarantulas, and subjecting the unluckiest ones to a pit of snakes. There's also a head crushing by stone slab for one particular male pest! CORPSE introduces us to Joe's hunchback henchman, Bruno. In addition, we are treated to the infamous, full-color Hell sequence, complete with suffering souls!
Once again, as with the first movie, this is a sadistic, demonic masterpiece...
Third-world Oddity
smokehill retrievers20 January 2007
I often tell my friends who haven't lived in the Third World that they can't really appreciate just how primitive and downright "alien" their cultures are without seeing some of their films. Most Americans and Europeans tend to think of South & Central American countries and cultures as being pretty much the same as ours, with just perhaps a bit less education and opportunities. Seeing what entertainment "works" in those countries should divest anyone of those illusions and, perhaps, help explain why most of the Third World is mired in poverty and tyranny, enslaved to whichever tin-pot dictator, witch doctor or "church" is marketing their product effectively this week. From that standpoint, I heartily recommend suffering through this dreadful little potboiler strictly as a learning experience.
Definitely a primitive, simple-minded crapola plot, miserably overacted (but completely typical of South/Central American films), and with overdrawn caricatures as characters, as in the proto-Catholic morality plays from which they stem. The hunchback resembles an organ=grinder's monkey, complete with fez, and -- in a time-warped flash to Marty Feldman's hunchback -- the damned hump seems to move about from scene to scene.
I'm surprised some of the other fans haven't lapsed into a swoon with comparisons to Mephistofeles, Dr. Faustus, Dante's Inferno, and other classic works, and in truth there are some obvious inspirations drawn from them. But then all morality plays follow similar plot lines in the end. And this definitely is a morality play designed purely for a poorly-educated but devout Catholic audience.
If one had to pick a nominee for Best Actor in this film, it would certainly have to go to one of the boa constrictors, who are the only ones not over-emoting themselves into outer space. A fine, restrained performance by the reptiles, from whom the actors might take lessons.
That said, there are a very few moments of pure brilliance in this film, well worth investing the time. I had one Hell of a time -- no pun intended -- giving this one a number. I started out with a "1" and finally settled on a "4," mostly because it is mostly bad, and for the rating to make sense compared to other films I've rated. I could have easily gone to a "6." It is hard to compare something this erratic in quality.
The "Alleluja Chorus" after Coffin Joe returns from Hell, mirroring Christ's descent into Hell and Resurrection, is a lovely touch, and had me giggling with perverse pleasure, and raising it to a "5" on that alone. The color scene of Hell is, as others have said, well worth the 80 or 90-minute wait. Beautifully conceived, creatively different, and amazingly effective considering it was done on a budget that probably wouldn't have bought lunch for the entire crew the same day. Campy? Oh yes, but still betraying a degree of vision and imagination that high-rolling Hollywood directors seldom ever display, and certainly not back then.
The equally surreal graveyard scenes are also a remarkable piece of work, and you find yourself enjoying the pure cheapness and inventiveness rather than laughing at it. Roger Corman's early work, and Ed Wood's, often strikes me this way. Ya gotta admire someone who knows how to go a LOOOOOONG way on a near-zero budget.
This film is definitely a "guilty pleasure," and even though one is forced to admit that it IS crap, it is still crap with a few gems embedded in the fecal stew.
Definitely a primitive, simple-minded crapola plot, miserably overacted (but completely typical of South/Central American films), and with overdrawn caricatures as characters, as in the proto-Catholic morality plays from which they stem. The hunchback resembles an organ=grinder's monkey, complete with fez, and -- in a time-warped flash to Marty Feldman's hunchback -- the damned hump seems to move about from scene to scene.
I'm surprised some of the other fans haven't lapsed into a swoon with comparisons to Mephistofeles, Dr. Faustus, Dante's Inferno, and other classic works, and in truth there are some obvious inspirations drawn from them. But then all morality plays follow similar plot lines in the end. And this definitely is a morality play designed purely for a poorly-educated but devout Catholic audience.
If one had to pick a nominee for Best Actor in this film, it would certainly have to go to one of the boa constrictors, who are the only ones not over-emoting themselves into outer space. A fine, restrained performance by the reptiles, from whom the actors might take lessons.
That said, there are a very few moments of pure brilliance in this film, well worth investing the time. I had one Hell of a time -- no pun intended -- giving this one a number. I started out with a "1" and finally settled on a "4," mostly because it is mostly bad, and for the rating to make sense compared to other films I've rated. I could have easily gone to a "6." It is hard to compare something this erratic in quality.
The "Alleluja Chorus" after Coffin Joe returns from Hell, mirroring Christ's descent into Hell and Resurrection, is a lovely touch, and had me giggling with perverse pleasure, and raising it to a "5" on that alone. The color scene of Hell is, as others have said, well worth the 80 or 90-minute wait. Beautifully conceived, creatively different, and amazingly effective considering it was done on a budget that probably wouldn't have bought lunch for the entire crew the same day. Campy? Oh yes, but still betraying a degree of vision and imagination that high-rolling Hollywood directors seldom ever display, and certainly not back then.
The equally surreal graveyard scenes are also a remarkable piece of work, and you find yourself enjoying the pure cheapness and inventiveness rather than laughing at it. Roger Corman's early work, and Ed Wood's, often strikes me this way. Ya gotta admire someone who knows how to go a LOOOOOONG way on a near-zero budget.
This film is definitely a "guilty pleasure," and even though one is forced to admit that it IS crap, it is still crap with a few gems embedded in the fecal stew.
Hell sequence deserves the watch.
insomniac_rod16 July 2004
Warning: Spoilers
I watched this one on an artistic channel. I had very low expectations as I've seen many monster films from the 50's and 60's and I thought this would be just cheesy as many of them. Surprisingly I found it very effective and not that cheesy. Also, it isn't exactly a "monster flick".
This was shot on B/W in purpose to shock the audience with the hell scene. Delightful moment, too bad this movie is rarely known, surely that scene deserves some credit. Talking about that scene, I wonder if the Catholic church or Catholic producers had something to do with that scene because it's a clear reference of how someone can experience life in hell. The trip through hell raised my doubts as for what was it's true intention for the movie. Sure, a spectacular scene but with mysterious reasoning. Coffin Joe had redemption on his hands.
I wasn't familiar with the Coffin Joe character until I read that this movie was a sequel, now I know that I didn't understand some sequences because of that. Thelocations were pretty good for it's time, specially the graveyard setting which is ambiented in a ghoustly manner with an effective fog and chilling tombs.
The characters are interesting on their looks and the dialogs are kind of ahead of it's time.
Underrated classic. Haven't seen it in years, I hope sometime it will get a DVD release. 8/10. Hope it won't get lost.
Watch this one with low expectations and have patience with it.
This was shot on B/W in purpose to shock the audience with the hell scene. Delightful moment, too bad this movie is rarely known, surely that scene deserves some credit. Talking about that scene, I wonder if the Catholic church or Catholic producers had something to do with that scene because it's a clear reference of how someone can experience life in hell. The trip through hell raised my doubts as for what was it's true intention for the movie. Sure, a spectacular scene but with mysterious reasoning. Coffin Joe had redemption on his hands.
I wasn't familiar with the Coffin Joe character until I read that this movie was a sequel, now I know that I didn't understand some sequences because of that. Thelocations were pretty good for it's time, specially the graveyard setting which is ambiented in a ghoustly manner with an effective fog and chilling tombs.
The characters are interesting on their looks and the dialogs are kind of ahead of it's time.
Underrated classic. Haven't seen it in years, I hope sometime it will get a DVD release. 8/10. Hope it won't get lost.
Watch this one with low expectations and have patience with it.
Disappointing? Disappointing! What was the expectation?
paz923 July 2007
Why was it disappointing? No product placement? No Jennifer Aniston? No Pixar/CGI? Maybe you were looking for the big Hollywood ending?
Could be you missed the point of this film completely? It is SUPPOSED to be bad. That's why IFC and the other film channels are playing it. It is a study in bad B-movie horror. Plus its from Brazil and OLD. EXPECT something WAY out of the ordinary.
My synopsis would be: Mary Shelly meets Noel Langley, based on the short story by Friedrich Nietzsche.
What a refreshing break from the formulas we are force fed! I expect, as one commenter already suggested that it's even better ON WEED!
Could be you missed the point of this film completely? It is SUPPOSED to be bad. That's why IFC and the other film channels are playing it. It is a study in bad B-movie horror. Plus its from Brazil and OLD. EXPECT something WAY out of the ordinary.
My synopsis would be: Mary Shelly meets Noel Langley, based on the short story by Friedrich Nietzsche.
What a refreshing break from the formulas we are force fed! I expect, as one commenter already suggested that it's even better ON WEED!
a bit too long but still worth seeing
trashgang23 October 2014
This is the follow-up to At Midnight I Will Take Your Soul (1964). It picks in exactly were the 1964 stopped and Coffin Joe is back searching for the perfect woman to give him a child. This time he enters a town full of beautiful women who he captures and is torturing to see which one stands the fear.
What an improvement this one has. There's more gore (for the time being) added and we also see some nudity here and there for the first time entering in Coffin's flicks. A thing that was to become common. Also shot in black and white it do has a surprise when Coffin is being dragged to hell. Suddenly the movie is shot in colours and also here we see the use of green and red lighting, things we see later being used in Giallo's.
The use of real animals also makes it a bit creepier. Just see girls being attacked by spiders and snakes.
The only thing that I had a bit of problems with is the length of this flick. It could have been a bit shorter here and there but don't get me wrong. It's still worth seeing.
Gore 1/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5
What an improvement this one has. There's more gore (for the time being) added and we also see some nudity here and there for the first time entering in Coffin's flicks. A thing that was to become common. Also shot in black and white it do has a surprise when Coffin is being dragged to hell. Suddenly the movie is shot in colours and also here we see the use of green and red lighting, things we see later being used in Giallo's.
The use of real animals also makes it a bit creepier. Just see girls being attacked by spiders and snakes.
The only thing that I had a bit of problems with is the length of this flick. It could have been a bit shorter here and there but don't get me wrong. It's still worth seeing.
Gore 1/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5
The best low-budget 60s Brazilian horror flick EVAR!
wandereramor12 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Here are the reasons to watch This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse:
1)The title. Whichever way you translate it, it's awesome. 2)A crazy Jodorowsky-esque hell sequence painted in garish colours in the midst of the black-and-white film. 3)Hot Brazilian chicks whose nipples are constantly visible through their clothing 4)Uncomfortable religious subtext 5)The way that, possibly because of (4), the film makes you actually feel sorry for its monstrous protagonist even as he continues doing awful things. The character drama, while not fully developed, is actually surprisingly nuanced and compelling for a film of this type, and there are some moments of ambiguity where you have to choose between rooting for the freakish outsider or the angry mob.
If none of these appeal to you, you probably won't like this movie. It's okay. The world needs lame people too.
1)The title. Whichever way you translate it, it's awesome. 2)A crazy Jodorowsky-esque hell sequence painted in garish colours in the midst of the black-and-white film. 3)Hot Brazilian chicks whose nipples are constantly visible through their clothing 4)Uncomfortable religious subtext 5)The way that, possibly because of (4), the film makes you actually feel sorry for its monstrous protagonist even as he continues doing awful things. The character drama, while not fully developed, is actually surprisingly nuanced and compelling for a film of this type, and there are some moments of ambiguity where you have to choose between rooting for the freakish outsider or the angry mob.
If none of these appeal to you, you probably won't like this movie. It's okay. The world needs lame people too.
More Coffin Joe!
BandSAboutMovies14 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Four years later, Coffin Joe has returned from the end of At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul and has recovered from shock, blindness and being accused for a series of murders. Now it's time to get back to finding his perfect woman and continue his blood.
Together with a hunchbacked assistant named Brono, he kidnaps six gorgeous women and puts them all through a horrific series of tasks to determine who will bear his child. Only Marcia doesn't scream in the face of the madness Coffin Joe puts them through, so only she can be the one. Yet even though he takes her to his bed - and kills the other five with snakes - she refuses him. He releases her, claiming he knows that she will never tell anyone what she has seen.
That's when he meets the Colonel's daughter, Laura, who actually returns his affection. The military man and his son try to break off their union, but Coffin Joe acts as only as he can to such an offense: he has Bruno kill Laura's brother and blames the colonel's henchman Truncador.
Yet now comes the dark night for the man who has no soul, as he goes to Hell after learning that one of his six brides was pregnant when he killed her. Dooming her child, he wanders the technicolor nightmare that is the abyss and comes upon Satan himself, who is also Coffin Joe. Our world's version renounces his ways in light of this revelation.
Coffin Joe resists all the killers the colonel and his men send after him and finally impregnates Laura, just as Marcia kills herself by drinking arsenic. Yet before she dies, she tells the townsfolk of Coffin Joe's crimes and they form a lynch mob just as he must decide who will survive, his bride or the baby, as the pregnancy has complications. Together they agree that the child must live, but fate is cruel and both Laura and Joe's scion die. Destroyed by this, he is no match for the lynch mob that arrives, shooting him in the cemetery where he drowns in the same pond where he drowned so many of his victims.
At the point of death, a priest offers to hear Joe's confession. He accepts God as his Savior and drowns as the skeletons of his victims claim him.
Brazilian censors forced filmmaker - and the human avatar of Coffin Joe - Jose Mojica Marins to recut and redub the end of this movie. That's why the strange ending of salvation is in here. It enraged Jose Mojica Marins and put a curse on his career, or so he felt, to the point that he could never finish his planned trilogy of three Coffin Joe movies. It took until 2005 and filmmakers who grew up as his fans before Embodiment of Evil closed out the story and showed how Coffin Joe survived.
In The Wizard of Oz, a better world is in color instead of black and white. In This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse, Hell itself is the only place to get the full color gel Mario Bava treatment and that says something about the nihilistic worldview of its creator and his creation. I grew up in a small town too, Coffin Joe, but I wasn't brave enough to grow out my fingernail to absurd lengths, go on and on about my superiority and make out with a woman while throwing snakes at others. I can only watch you and see how it could have been.
Together with a hunchbacked assistant named Brono, he kidnaps six gorgeous women and puts them all through a horrific series of tasks to determine who will bear his child. Only Marcia doesn't scream in the face of the madness Coffin Joe puts them through, so only she can be the one. Yet even though he takes her to his bed - and kills the other five with snakes - she refuses him. He releases her, claiming he knows that she will never tell anyone what she has seen.
That's when he meets the Colonel's daughter, Laura, who actually returns his affection. The military man and his son try to break off their union, but Coffin Joe acts as only as he can to such an offense: he has Bruno kill Laura's brother and blames the colonel's henchman Truncador.
Yet now comes the dark night for the man who has no soul, as he goes to Hell after learning that one of his six brides was pregnant when he killed her. Dooming her child, he wanders the technicolor nightmare that is the abyss and comes upon Satan himself, who is also Coffin Joe. Our world's version renounces his ways in light of this revelation.
Coffin Joe resists all the killers the colonel and his men send after him and finally impregnates Laura, just as Marcia kills herself by drinking arsenic. Yet before she dies, she tells the townsfolk of Coffin Joe's crimes and they form a lynch mob just as he must decide who will survive, his bride or the baby, as the pregnancy has complications. Together they agree that the child must live, but fate is cruel and both Laura and Joe's scion die. Destroyed by this, he is no match for the lynch mob that arrives, shooting him in the cemetery where he drowns in the same pond where he drowned so many of his victims.
At the point of death, a priest offers to hear Joe's confession. He accepts God as his Savior and drowns as the skeletons of his victims claim him.
Brazilian censors forced filmmaker - and the human avatar of Coffin Joe - Jose Mojica Marins to recut and redub the end of this movie. That's why the strange ending of salvation is in here. It enraged Jose Mojica Marins and put a curse on his career, or so he felt, to the point that he could never finish his planned trilogy of three Coffin Joe movies. It took until 2005 and filmmakers who grew up as his fans before Embodiment of Evil closed out the story and showed how Coffin Joe survived.
In The Wizard of Oz, a better world is in color instead of black and white. In This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse, Hell itself is the only place to get the full color gel Mario Bava treatment and that says something about the nihilistic worldview of its creator and his creation. I grew up in a small town too, Coffin Joe, but I wasn't brave enough to grow out my fingernail to absurd lengths, go on and on about my superiority and make out with a woman while throwing snakes at others. I can only watch you and see how it could have been.
Don't listen to that guy who saw it on cable...this movie rules
amishgoat29 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Someone wrote a review about this film after they saw it on cable. Here's a well known fact: MOVIES ON CABLE ARE CUT!!! Of course you didn't like the film because you never saw the true version of it. Do NOT rely on anyone who has only seen a cut version of a film, especially something by Coffin Joe, master of confusing horror movies. Not to mention that the person who reviewed the cable version of the film also gave a great review to one of the most boring, useless, contrived 'horror' films ever, House on Sorority Row (this same person gave the incorrect title of this night i will possess your soul and gave it 1/10 in the review yet 4/10 in the headline???). Anyway, here's a real review of the film which I saw UNCUT on the big screen at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. A continuation of At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, Coffin Joe is still searching for a woman to bear his child. Spooky old Joe, with his creepy long fingernails, continues to harass and scare the townspeople while searching for his mate. Remember this movie is from Brazil in the late 60's (during the dictatorship) so you have to watch it as if you were in that era, only then can you truly appreciate the film for what it is...an old time scary movie.
Gory Horror Thriller with Religious Overtones
l_rawjalaurence23 June 2016
Zé do Caixão (José Mojica Marins), translated into English as Coffin Joe, is an übermensch with an overwhelming desire to prove his superiority to mere mortals. In a Brazilian small town he takes several young women prisoner, so that he can choose one to have his child with, and thereby perpetuate the race of superhuman beings. Unfortunately things do not go according to plan ...
In the central role, Marins has a wonderful time; he overacts fearfully, talking direct to camera as well as proclaiming his virtues. With his long black cloak and extended fingernails, he cuts an imposing presence over the frightened villagers, none of whom know quite how to deal with him.
As director, José Mojica Marins fills the screen with shots of female suffering (no sexual equality here) together with gratuitous shots of breasts, bottoms and other parts of the female anatomy. The film incorporates a truly bizarre color sequence, where Coffin Joe descends into hell, where the suffering are mutilated, strange beasts threaten everyone's security, and no one is safe.
The film incorporated several allusions to classic Hollywood horror, notably James Whale's FRANKENSTEIN, in the scene where Coffin Joe carries his dead wife Laura (Tina Wohlers) into a darkened room, in the vain hope that she might still be alive. On the whole, however, this low-budget production, shot in rudimentary fashion as a series of close-ups and two-shots, reminds us of the low-budget work of Roger Corman - especially in its use of garish colors.
The ending brings religion into the mix, as Coffin Joe is offered the chance to repent for his sins. He refuses the chance, and dies a grisly death among the skeletons of those he killed earlier on, to the sound of heavenly choirs on the soundtrack. By choosing the ways of God, it seems that anyone can be redeemed - even murderers.
THIS NIGHT I WILL POSSESS YOUR CORPSE is mildly entertaining, if only for Marins' performance in the central role. But the film as a whole can hardly be called memorable.
In the central role, Marins has a wonderful time; he overacts fearfully, talking direct to camera as well as proclaiming his virtues. With his long black cloak and extended fingernails, he cuts an imposing presence over the frightened villagers, none of whom know quite how to deal with him.
As director, José Mojica Marins fills the screen with shots of female suffering (no sexual equality here) together with gratuitous shots of breasts, bottoms and other parts of the female anatomy. The film incorporates a truly bizarre color sequence, where Coffin Joe descends into hell, where the suffering are mutilated, strange beasts threaten everyone's security, and no one is safe.
The film incorporated several allusions to classic Hollywood horror, notably James Whale's FRANKENSTEIN, in the scene where Coffin Joe carries his dead wife Laura (Tina Wohlers) into a darkened room, in the vain hope that she might still be alive. On the whole, however, this low-budget production, shot in rudimentary fashion as a series of close-ups and two-shots, reminds us of the low-budget work of Roger Corman - especially in its use of garish colors.
The ending brings religion into the mix, as Coffin Joe is offered the chance to repent for his sins. He refuses the chance, and dies a grisly death among the skeletons of those he killed earlier on, to the sound of heavenly choirs on the soundtrack. By choosing the ways of God, it seems that anyone can be redeemed - even murderers.
THIS NIGHT I WILL POSSESS YOUR CORPSE is mildly entertaining, if only for Marins' performance in the central role. But the film as a whole can hardly be called memorable.
Disappointment
bmanacles20 January 2007
At best, this film was mediocre...at best. At times it seemed to pull you in, but then it would throw you right back out with ridiculous character dialog or simply...well, bad props. One big thing about this movie is that it's like a train wreck. You know what's going to happen, you wish it would hurry up...and you can't look away. I could have watched 'Return of The Living Dead' for the eighteenth time, but instead I decided to watch this craptastic film. I thought it would be funny, as it had so many aspects that possessed the ability...but it was neither over-the-top enough...nor was it realistic enough to make the story believable. To tell you the truth, you can tell right from the beginning with the intro credits that this movie is going to suck. But I recommend seeing it anyway, just to prove that there are worse things that plan 9.
Joe's epic.
morrison-dylan-fan7 October 2014
Warning: Spoilers
October 2012:
After deciding that I would watch a trio of titles from Anchor Bay's Coffin Joe boxset for the IMDb's Horror boards October Challenge,I started to check the running times,and was shocked to find out that one of the titles was almost 2 hours long,which led to me putting it at the back of the line,and instead watching the three shortest movies (all also reviewed) in the collection.
October 2014:
With having experienced a huge delay in my plan to finish the box set in 2013 thanks to misplacing it,I decided after I at last got hold of it again to keep the set safely by my TV,so that I could kick off the Halloween season,by at last taking a look at Coffin Joe's epic.
View on the film:
Toning down the deep-fried gore of the first Coffin Joe title,co- writer/ (along with Aldenora Da Sa Porto) director/actor Jose Mojica Marins instead use the huge 108 minute running time to get surprisingly deep into the psychological aspects of Joe's Horror's.
Initially showing Joe's search for a perfect woman to be a nihilistic quest,the writers smartly use the introduction of Laura, (played by the beautiful Tina Wohlers) as a route to reveal Coffin Joe's weaknesses,with Marins and Porto showing that despite his logic being rather insane,there is a method to his madness which is firmly at the center of Joe's continuing quests.
Matching the toned down nature of the screenplay,Marins uses long,stilted shots to hold the viewer face to face with Coffin Joe. Along with creating a good creepy atmosphere,Marins also displays a real skill in placing Horror at moments that will catch the audience completely off guard,with a particular highlight of the title being Coffin Joe's latest victims getting killed by snakes and spiders in an extremely chilling scene. (which was shot with real animals,which all the actresses bravely handled,after getting drunk just before filming the scene)
Filming in B&W,Marins decides to give Coffin Joe the biggest shock of his life,by sending Joe to hell that lights up the scene in an amazingly warped Technicolor vision,as Marins reveals that Coffin Joe will not fade away,before he takes your soul.
After deciding that I would watch a trio of titles from Anchor Bay's Coffin Joe boxset for the IMDb's Horror boards October Challenge,I started to check the running times,and was shocked to find out that one of the titles was almost 2 hours long,which led to me putting it at the back of the line,and instead watching the three shortest movies (all also reviewed) in the collection.
October 2014:
With having experienced a huge delay in my plan to finish the box set in 2013 thanks to misplacing it,I decided after I at last got hold of it again to keep the set safely by my TV,so that I could kick off the Halloween season,by at last taking a look at Coffin Joe's epic.
View on the film:
Toning down the deep-fried gore of the first Coffin Joe title,co- writer/ (along with Aldenora Da Sa Porto) director/actor Jose Mojica Marins instead use the huge 108 minute running time to get surprisingly deep into the psychological aspects of Joe's Horror's.
Initially showing Joe's search for a perfect woman to be a nihilistic quest,the writers smartly use the introduction of Laura, (played by the beautiful Tina Wohlers) as a route to reveal Coffin Joe's weaknesses,with Marins and Porto showing that despite his logic being rather insane,there is a method to his madness which is firmly at the center of Joe's continuing quests.
Matching the toned down nature of the screenplay,Marins uses long,stilted shots to hold the viewer face to face with Coffin Joe. Along with creating a good creepy atmosphere,Marins also displays a real skill in placing Horror at moments that will catch the audience completely off guard,with a particular highlight of the title being Coffin Joe's latest victims getting killed by snakes and spiders in an extremely chilling scene. (which was shot with real animals,which all the actresses bravely handled,after getting drunk just before filming the scene)
Filming in B&W,Marins decides to give Coffin Joe the biggest shock of his life,by sending Joe to hell that lights up the scene in an amazingly warped Technicolor vision,as Marins reveals that Coffin Joe will not fade away,before he takes your soul.
The Man Just Wants to Spread Himself Around
TheRedDeath3012 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
It's a criminal shame that these movies are as unknown and underrated as they are, even among the horror underground. The fact that 4th- rate garbage flicks on some streaming site have over 100 reviews, while this has 24 at the time of this writing makes me sad. I get it to some degree. I was only lucky enough to discover these movies through the book HIDDEN HORROR, which introduced me to the opening chapter. They're in another language, with subtitles. They're 50 years old, at this point. They are low-budget, underground films. It's not a great surprise that so few have dived into the world of Coffin Joe, but it's still a travesty.
Of course, this is a sequel, so if you are just coming into the movie, start with AT MIDNIGHT I'LL TAKE YOUR SOUL. This movie picks up directly from the events of that fist film. Xe (Coffin Joe) is badly injured and on trial for his crimes, but within the first few minutes of the movie, we put those things aside so that Xe can begin his quest to create a perfect son. See, Xe doesn't believe in good, or god, or much of anything for that matter. To him, the pursuit of his life is to pass his beliefs and his seed on to a son, who can keep his beliefs alive.
He starts this quest by kidnapping 6 women and torturing them in a sort of trial by godless game show, where the winner gets to be subdued by Xe's love. These scenes offer some of the best moments of the film, with some frightening images that masterfully play with the line between sex and violence. Xe comes to find that he needs not force himself upon some unwitting woman, though, as the woman of his nightmares shows up completely willing to turn her back on everything to be Xe's lover and the mother of his child.
From there, the movie takes a few odd twist and turns, most notably with one of the greatest scenes (I'm not even kidding) in any 60s horror movie when Xe goes to Hell. It's a technicolor inferno full of Bosch-like imagery and psychedelic terror. The scene begins to set a tone in the movie where Marins (the director) start to play with the ideas of atheism and to explore Xe's beliefs, in counter to a possibly impending sense of guilt, mingled with his fear of death and leaving behind a legacy of nothing. In AT MIDNIGHT, Maris used his character as a bold, radical villain spitting in the face of the religion and politics that were dominating his country at the time. In THIS NIGHT, he goes a step further, exploring the very nature of Xe's beliefs.
These movies would appeal to so many horror fans. For fans of the old Universal style of film, the look and feel of this movie is right up your alley. Taking some of the more bizarre subject matter aside, these movies would look right at home with Lugosi's Poverty Row films of the 40s. The subject matter is very 60s, full of counter-culture questioning of the standards of society, mixed with the obsession with evil that was so common in 60s horror. This is, almost, where the look and feel of WHITE ZOMBIE meets the kinetic film style of Rob Zombie. This is the kind of movie that you could watch on mute, at a party, with some metal or goth music in the background and still sit and enjoy for the sheer visionary impact of it.
Of course, this is a sequel, so if you are just coming into the movie, start with AT MIDNIGHT I'LL TAKE YOUR SOUL. This movie picks up directly from the events of that fist film. Xe (Coffin Joe) is badly injured and on trial for his crimes, but within the first few minutes of the movie, we put those things aside so that Xe can begin his quest to create a perfect son. See, Xe doesn't believe in good, or god, or much of anything for that matter. To him, the pursuit of his life is to pass his beliefs and his seed on to a son, who can keep his beliefs alive.
He starts this quest by kidnapping 6 women and torturing them in a sort of trial by godless game show, where the winner gets to be subdued by Xe's love. These scenes offer some of the best moments of the film, with some frightening images that masterfully play with the line between sex and violence. Xe comes to find that he needs not force himself upon some unwitting woman, though, as the woman of his nightmares shows up completely willing to turn her back on everything to be Xe's lover and the mother of his child.
From there, the movie takes a few odd twist and turns, most notably with one of the greatest scenes (I'm not even kidding) in any 60s horror movie when Xe goes to Hell. It's a technicolor inferno full of Bosch-like imagery and psychedelic terror. The scene begins to set a tone in the movie where Marins (the director) start to play with the ideas of atheism and to explore Xe's beliefs, in counter to a possibly impending sense of guilt, mingled with his fear of death and leaving behind a legacy of nothing. In AT MIDNIGHT, Maris used his character as a bold, radical villain spitting in the face of the religion and politics that were dominating his country at the time. In THIS NIGHT, he goes a step further, exploring the very nature of Xe's beliefs.
These movies would appeal to so many horror fans. For fans of the old Universal style of film, the look and feel of this movie is right up your alley. Taking some of the more bizarre subject matter aside, these movies would look right at home with Lugosi's Poverty Row films of the 40s. The subject matter is very 60s, full of counter-culture questioning of the standards of society, mixed with the obsession with evil that was so common in 60s horror. This is, almost, where the look and feel of WHITE ZOMBIE meets the kinetic film style of Rob Zombie. This is the kind of movie that you could watch on mute, at a party, with some metal or goth music in the background and still sit and enjoy for the sheer visionary impact of it.
Your average spooky film from the 60's...
dead_dudeINthehouse14 July 2003
THIS NIGHT I WILL POSSESS YOUR SOUL was recently shown on cable, and I must say that all it's hype and good reviews don't match with the final product. The movie is ok, it has some good direction, o.k. art direction and cinematography, but I guess that the fear factor is not present here. The movie centers mainly on the graveyard where all the events take place; the graveyard is very creepy. The main characters look spooky and disturbed. That may be a good thing because this movie is kind of long so you get used to these creepy characters. I don't recommend it because it'd be a waste or time for any horror fan, I guess that this movie tried to stand out of the pile of horror italian movies from it's time...
1/10 Burn it! Flush the ashes
1/10 Burn it! Flush the ashes
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