It’s the Halloween season, so I thought I’d take a look at a lesser-known horror series for these next two blog-posts. The Zé do Caixão, a.k.a. Coffin Joe, series comes to us from Brazil and was born from the mind of José Mojica Marins, who co-wrote, directed, and starred as the title character in each film. Having seen the first installment, I can already tell that this series will be appealing to any classic horror fan in my audience. This is prime “late-night horror host” material, that’s for sure, and it’s noteworthy in horror history as well. I’ll start off with a synopsis, as always.
The film follows Zé, an undertaker in a Brazilian village. He’s a prime example of a villain-protagonist, cruel and nasty to everyone, sometimes passively and sometimes very actively, to the point where almost no one in town wants to mess with him. He shows an outward disdain for religion, deliberately eating meat on a holy day and laughing off any notion of fatalism and divine retribution. His only care seems to be for blood lineage and the passing down there of, though only if his child is born a son, of course. His wife, Lenita, is clearly trying to be a good wife to him, but because she can’t have any children, Zé starts looking…elsewhere. More specifically, he starts looking at Terezinha, the fiancé of his buddy Antonio, though she rejects all of his advances. Eventually, frustrated that his wife can’t bear him the son he wants, he ties her up and gets her bitten by a deadly spider. While most everyone figures that Zé was the one that killed Lenita, the police can’t find any evidence against him, so he’s off the hook. Later on, Zé, Antonio, and Terezinha visit the local Romani woman, who tells the couple that they won’t be married and are heading for tragedy. Zé, of course, dismisses her fortune telling entirely, but the lady warns him about rejecting the supernatural and the consequences that will befall him for doing so. After they leave, Zé and Antonio hang out in Antonio’s house, wherein Zé drowns and strangles Antonio in the bathtub. As before, the police can’t find any incriminating evidence towards Zé, so Zé is free to carry out his plan to seduce Terezinha. At first, he tries to sweeten her over with a pet canary as a gift, but when she rejects his physical advances, Zé brutally assaults her. Terzinha swears that she will take her own life after this, and then return to drag Zé to hell. Zé doesn’t believe that she’ll go through with it, but she does, and oddly leaves a note that doesn’t blame him. The local doctor starts to suspect that Zé’s been the culprit of these recent murders, but Zé, well, let’s just say he makes sure the doctor won’t “see” him murdering ever again. That night, Zé shouts to the heavens, and those he’s killed, to just try and take him, practically spitting in God’s face. The night passes, and nothing ends up happening, but Zé shouldn’t celebrate for too long, since the Day of the Dead is right around the corner. I’ll stop the recap here, just in case you want to see how it all shakes out (though you probably have a good idea already). So, next, let’s get into my thoughts on this film.
I’ll admit, I’m not really a huge classic horror fan, or at least not to an extent. I’m not big on the Universal Monster films, or the Hammer horror films, or a lot of “drive-in” material either, so unless a film in these time-frames has more interesting story elements, creates an engrossing experience above average pulp levels, or is just weirdly demented and different in a cool way, I’m probably not going to be that into it. At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul doesn’t really accomplish any of these in my eyes, feeling very much like something you’d see on a late-night horror host show. However, it’s pretty clear that the film knows what it is, from the cheesy spooky semi-animated intro (complete with graveyard scenes, a “menacing” owl, and a ghostly white transition for each credit), to the Romani lady evilly warning you not to watch the film (with fake skull in tow), to some very obvious and goofy effects in the finale (I’ve seen plenty of fake bats in horror films, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fake owl before). The music is often very dramatic orchestral stuff, not unlike what you’d hear in Universal and Hammer works; the main character, Zé, sports a top hat and cape, a very classic villainous look that goes back to at least the silent era; and it’s even shot in black and white, which really ties it all together. I think this is just a case where this isn’t the kind of film that I’m great at covering, which doesn’t bode well for next week, since I’ve pretty much locked myself into covering the sequel. However, I do think there are certain aspects that I can make note of. For instance, Zé is a truly detestable villain protagonist, and is very much meant to be so. He’s basically like if you took Dr. Jekyll out of Mr. Hyde, except with a little more “classical villain” in his demeanor before he flips out on people. He’s got the brutal and sadistic side down pat, complete with a dissolve effect to make his eyes look bloodshot, but he also carries a “respect through fear” angle, not unlike a mobster or old western villain, allowing him to walk into a local bar and behave however he pleases, lest they face his wrath. It can come across rather silly that all of these people would be afraid of just one man like him (it’s not like he has any crew for backup), but my initial thought was that it’s just meant to show how “truly evil and intimidating” he is to the townsfolk. However, from what I’ve been able to gather, some see Zé as an amalgam of Brazil’s societal issues, such as abusive and objectifying behavior towards women among others. While I’ve never been to Brazil, it’s sadly true that many societies around the world have problems like this, and often they’re either ignored, sidestepped, or horribly justified through some sort of jacked up reasoning. Is this part of the reason that Zé is nearly untouched by the townsfolk? Is he a grim “elephant in the room” of their own issues? I’m not entirely sure, but either way, he’s a prime villain protagonist if I ever saw one. There’s something other things I found out about this film and its filmmaker that I think I should mention as well. Firstly, this was Brazil’s first ever horror film. I have to say, knowing that fact, this is a pretty solid first entry for the country. I think it could go up to bat with many of its pulpy contemporaries, honestly, and definitely shows a level of talent and ambition from the director (while definitely cheesy, there’s a notable effect he uses in the finale that involves gluing something directly onto the film frame). Also, from what I understand, José Mojica Marins was one of the first Brazilian directors to really push a transgressive angle against Brazil’s dictatorial government as well as the elitist and moralistic sides of the country’s cinema. So, while the film may not be to my tastes, I can respect its place in history and what it did for Brazilian filmmaking. Before I wrap up, I should probably mention that there is an assault scene in the film, as I talked about in my recap, so I’d tread with caution if that sort of thing triggers you. Plus, the violence in the film can lean on the graphic side of things, though not too dissimilar from the standards of the time, so be aware of that too if you’re squeamish.
At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul isn’t really for me, but I definitely think it would appeal to horror fans. Granted, it’s not like this film doesn’t already have a cult status, but if you’ve never seen it before and what I’ve described sounds right up your alley, then I say make a Halloween of it. Plus, it’s historically significant too, so that should be interesting for those into cinema’s lineage. Next week, we’ll cover the follow-up “This Night I’ll Posses Your Corpse,” so we’ll catch up on Zé’s story then. Until the 28th, have a great and twisted time with At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul.