À minuit, je possèderai ton âme

The Brazilian film "At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul" (1963) features a character who is a strong contender for the most hateful, obnoxious, despicable, slimy and loathsome creature in horror movie history. He is Ze do Caixao, a name that, loosely translated from the Portuguese, means Coffin Joe, and he would go on to become a wildly popular figure in Brazilian culture over the years; kind of like an amalgam of Baron Samedi and Freddy Krueger. As played by the film's director, Jose Mojica Marins, Ze is quite unforgettable. Bearded, caped and top hatted, he bullies and browbeats the inhabitants of his small village, and does away with those closest to him, all in his sick pursuit to father a son and continue his bloodline. Perhaps most shocking, in the largely Catholic country of Brazil, he is a taunting atheist, who eats meat on Good Friday and even forces others to do the same! No living person seems able to stand up to Ze. But the unliving...ah, perhaps that's another story.... Filmed on the cheap, this picture still works marvelously, featuring as it does many scenes of casual and brutal violence (wait'll you see what Ze does to his barren mistress), some interesting FX (I love that glittery ghost!), fairly intense acting (especially by Marins and that gypsy witch), and a very freaky score (wails, screams, echo effects, etc.). One scene in particular is very fine; the one in which Ze rails against heaven and hell during a thunderstorm and drunkenly demands that God and all spirits do him harm. Pretty intense stuff. Anyway, that gypsy woman, at the film's beginning, warns us NOT to watch this picture, as it will make us suffer, but I'm glad that I stayed with it. And oh...a modern-day interview with Marins is included on this DVD. If you want to see something REALLY scary, take a look at his fingernails!

In a small town, the creepy and violent gravedigger Zé do Caixão (José Mojica Marins) is feared by the locals. Zé do Caixão lives with Lenita (Valeria Vasquez), who can not deliver a son to him. Obsessed to have a son, Zé do Caixão harasses Terezinha de Oliveira (Magda Mei), who is the fiancée of his friend Antônio de Andrade (Nivaldo Lima) and kills Lenita with a spider simulating an accident. Then he drowns Antônio and rapes Terezinha expecting to have a baby with her. Terezinha commits suicide but does not accuse Zé do Caixão in his letter. When Dr. Rodolfo (Ilídio Martins) decides to request another autopsy of Antônio, Zé do Caixão burns him to death. The inspector Barretos can not prove that Zé do Caixão is the killer, but on the Day of the Dead, the local gypsy warns him that the dead will take his soul to hell.

"À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma" is a great cult horror movie from the also cult-director José Mojica Marins, a.k.a. Zé do Caixão in Brazil and Coffin Joe overseas. This is a low-budget rough film supported by a good story and performances with passion, dialogs with blasphemy and lots of gore. Further, this film is ahead of time with a very disturbing story for 1964, but recommended only to very specific audience. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma" ("At Midnight I Will Take Your Soul")

Having heard about Coffin Joe (Jose Mojica Marins) for years, I finally watched AT MIDNIGHT I'LL TAKE YOUR SOUL. Within the first 15 minutes or so, Joe has already relieved a man of his fingers, blasphemed the church, and murdered those dearest to himself. He's just getting started!

Joe is pure eeevil!

For its time, AMITYS is a bleak, goldmine of ruthless horror. For its budget, or lack thereof, it's a dark miracle!

Remorseless, insane, yet fascinating, Joe isn't easily forgotten. A cult icon in his native Brazil, Marins went to great lengths to preserve and project the character -btw, the fingernails are indeed real!- in his everyday life. Such dedication pays off!

Having passed on this past February (2020), we can be sure he looks upon our world and laughs satanically...

I was scouring the local mass media a/v store when on a cart I saw a title that caught my eye. Shaped like a coffin was this box set sitting with one of his twins. Being a horror fan I couldn't help but be interested (It looked very similar to a Misfits box set some moons ago).The title of this set was simply "The Coffin Joe Trilogy". My mind raced back to all those years of Fangoria stockpiled in the back of my mind. I grabbed, I bought and I loved every minute of the set. The first film which ,according to the notes on the inside, is a phenomena in Brazil. The character Coffin Joe is the local cinema boogeyman (ala Fred Krueger)and yet again teaches us that the lack of a budget only stimulates creativity. 8/10

'Zé do Caixão' aka 'Coffin Joe' is THE essential character in Brazilian Horror cinema, which isn't very prolific otherwise. The character was single-handedly created and played by Brazilian Horror/Exploitation icon José Mojica Marins, who has, over forty-five years, so far played the role of his life in 14 films (most of which he directed and scripted) as well as a TV series. This first film about the deranged gravedigger in search of a woman to bear him a son, "À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma" aka. "At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul" of 1964 isn't exactly a 'good' Horror film, but it is definitely a highly charming one, which deserves the certain cult-status it enjoys.

The central character, Zé do Caixão (Coffin Joe) is the stereotype of a schlock-horror character (though he often behaves like an everyday bully): a bizarre-looking black-clad fellow with a full beard who sports a top hat, a cape and overlong thumb-nails. Zé (José Mojica Marins), the gravedigger of a small Brazilian town, is generally feared by his fellow citizens, whom he bullies and treats despotically. None of the superstitious and religious townspeople dare to fight back at Zé, who believes neither in God nor in superstition, and who has no scruples whatsoever. Zé has a lovely wife who loves him, but he despises her because she hasn't born him a son. The gravedigger therefore goes out on an unscrupulous search for a woman to bear him a son...

"At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul" has many highly clichéd and stereotypical elements, and due to the low budget, it often looks very cheap. This only increases the camp-factor, however, and gives the film a very particular charm. It has to be said that a low budget isn't necessarily an excuse for a cheap look - after all, the sixties brought forth countless brilliant low-budget Gothic Horror films, including productions from countries like Mexico (with amazing films such as "Misterios de Ultratumba" of 1959 or "La Maldición de la Llorona" of 1962). The particular cheapness of "At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul" is a charming one, however, and though many elements have a cheesy look, it is obvious that writer/director/leading man José Mojica Marins made his first success with a huge love for the genre. Most of the actors are truly amateurish, and probably had no other screen-experience. The film is full of plastic skulls, fake spiders, fake cobwebs, and stereotypical characters (such as a gypsy fortune teller), and though these elements may look amateurish, they simply have to be loved. The film relies on these elements (as well as on the priceless character of Coffin Joe) in order to build up a creepy atmosphere - and, even though it is never suspenseful or even remotely scary, it succeeds in that. As stated above, this is not a good Horror film; in fact, it is highly nonsensical cheese; but it is also a highly charming and weird little film that cult-cinema fans should at least give a try. Personally, highly enjoyed it, and I am now looking forward to see more 'Coffin Joe' films. "At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul" certainly won't meet everybody's tastes, but it is definitely recommendable to my fellow fans of obscure low-budget Horror and Exploitation/Cult-Cinema in general.