What better way is there to officially kick off Nightmare Fuel 2018 than the first Brazilian horror film?
Years ago, I was introduced to the character Coffin Joe by Cinemassacre during one of their annual Monster Madness marathons. I’d never come close to hearing of Coffin Joe before, but I was enthralled by the menacing brute. Concocted by writer/director José Mojica Marins, Coffin Joe is a mad undertaker in an undisclosed Brazilian town. He spurns religion, thinking it to be for those of lesser constitutions and intellects, and has quite the superiority complex. He has no qualms about beating up drunks at the bar, raping women to bear him a child, and even employing animals to do his dirty work. Think of a dark, psychopathic version of the otherwise merely mildly-sociopathic Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment. (Hip references, there, T-Money.) With his trademark top hat, cloak, and far-too-long and -sharp fingernails, Coffin Joe strikes quite the bellicose figure, lemme tell ya.
His first outing comes in the form of At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul (or, in the original Portuguese, À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma), which, c’mon, is quite the title. We’re introduced to Joe (or, rather, his proper name, Zé do Caixão, though I’m gonna be referring to him as “Coffin Joe” for the duration) and his current wife, Lenita, who has yet to bear him a child. The “continuation of the blood” is his chiefest concern, as he tells us in the opening monologue (which is then followed by a second opening monologue, this time from an almost Elvira-esque gypsy who shows up later on in the film’s actual narrative), so he sets his eyes on Terezinha for the task, though she’s currently engaged to Joe’s friend Antonio. Not one to be pushed around (as he demonstrates at a bar fight), he kills Lenita with a spider, drowns Antonio, and rapes Terezinha, who proceeds to take her own life soon after. While going after another suitable bride (or, at least, baby mama), Joe is warned by the aforementioned gypsy that his soul will be dragged to hell, Alison Lohman style. The clock ticks away toward midnight, the appointed hour, but Joe is unafraid.
With this film, Brazil’s film industry hit the horror genre with alacrity and skill. It’s an effective creep-fest, mostly fueled by Marins’ flamboyant performance as Coffin Joe, a role he’d duplicate many times in the coming years (from the immediate sequel, This Nigh I’ll Possess Your Corpse four years later, to 2008’s Embodiment of Evil, neither of which I’ve yet seen (maybe next year…)). Though the film looks and feels like a cheap made-for-TV flick of the era in the States, the soft and cloudy monochromatic visuals are more than up to the task of providing some goosebumps. Though hardly known outside of hardcore horror circles (at least as far as I’ve been able to tell), At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul deserves some additional attention, if for no other reason than for the first appearance of what should be a horror icon. Give it a go during your next horror fest, especially if you’ve already run through the usual big names of the genre.
Allusions of Grandeur 