O Cemitério das Almas Perdidas

After finding their activities unwelcome, a group of carnival workers mistaken for devil worshippers are left in a cursed cemetery as prey for an immortal collection of bloodthirsty beings trapped there, and when one of them tires of the situation contacts a local tribesman to help break the curse and stop them.

There was quite a lot to love about this effort. One of the strongest aspects involved here is the strong and engaging storyline that keeps this one intriguing and moving forward. The initial battle with the Satanic colonists and the locals manages to not only bring about some interesting occult imagery but sets the stage for the more engaging work found in the modern setting. Getting an idea of their association with the black arts and how this religious-based fear governs the locals against the supposed devil-worshipping carnival workers who get involved with the followers by being dragged into the fateful cemetery they're cursed to remain at. With the work done to also feature the connection to the warrior tribe and the young kid saving them, the story here is quite well-handled. There's also so much to like here with the action that takes place. The film operates with plenty of different tactics, including the series of confrontations between the treacherous members of the cult to get their hands on the fabled book of spells to the tribe's raid on the carnival workers and their later assault on the church ruins o rescue their kidnapped member who becomes involved in all sorts of black magic fun as the blood gets spilled with abandoned, bodies are hacked to pieces and the action involved is frenetic. This impressive series of battles and confrontations carries on throughout the rest of the film as the possessed demons become far more active and bloodthirsty with their captives or whoever manages to encounter them. Given the impressive amount of practical gore effects and blood spilled here, there's quite a bit to like here which all holds this one up for the most part. This one had a few minor, sight problems. The main problem is the dizzying amount of characters and plotlines to keep track of that can make for a slightly disconcerting time getting invested in the film. The first half ends to go through so much backstory and setup, which admittedly serves this nicely in terms of bringing together what happens later but does make keeping track of everything rather difficult. That becomes more prominent when it suddenly reintroduces the carnival workers into the story after being a major part of the film for the first few minutes nearly an hour later, making it possible to forget they were still alive. This really holds the film down the most.

Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Well done horror action film from Brazil, with a lot of gore, creepy dark magic with religious tones, unconventionally portrayed vampire myth elements, and a two-period background ranging from Portuguese colonization and butchery of Indians and a contemporary travelling circus delivering its horror show in a tiny town with religious fanatic denizens. While there are few not so good moments, and the story is indeed a little confusing, the merits are remarkable, particularly considering the genre: awesome sets, art direction, make-up, soundtrack, light... everything leading to a quite spooky atmosphere.

Corrupted by the power of Cipriano's Black Book, a Jesuit and his followers begin a reign of horror in colonial Brazil, until they are cursed to live forever trapped under the graves of a cemetery. Now, centuries later, they are ready to break free and spread their evil all over the world.

I shouldn't mark it as watched, since I was scattered, inattentive and sleepy during its presentation, however the cause was not the uninteresting theme, nor its economic production, after all I love and am a lover of trash horror as well as national cinema, here we have a good mix of both, with a relatively good quality, I will need to review it to make a fairer analysis... Well...

After finding Kriya (2020-also reviewed) to be welcomed surprising film,I decided to check what else was being streamed at the Abertoir Horror Festival. With my pick of the last stream the day before having gone so well, I choose to do the same a second time,and enter the cemetery.

Note:This review contains plot details.

View on the film:

Entering the cemetery to a opening dedication to film maker Coffin Joe/ Jose Mojica Marins, writer/director Rodrigo Aragao & cinematographer Alexandre Barcelos dig their nails into Brazilian Horror with gloriously decadent splatter effects,as the Jesuit and his blood-thirsty followers paint the screen red with practical effect head smashing spewing crimson.

Locking the Jesuit inside graves with his cult for 100's of years, Aragao breaks them out with icy blues across the cemetery, whisked away in close-ups of blood- curdling cackles from their return.

As gore is sprayed all over the place, the screenplay by Aragao attempts a uneasy, but ambitious balance of supernatural chops with the shadows from the horrors of colonialism,where the serious manner in which massacre of the indigenous is presented, feels at odds with the pulpy chunks covering the cemetery of lost souls.

CEMETERY OF LOST SOULS is a Brazilian Horror film which had the potential to be excellent but lets the audience down in the last third.

The movie intertwines two story lines, one set during the time of the Portuguese Conquistadors, and one set in the present. In the historical story, a Jesuit Priest who stole a Grimoir (Black book of magic) leads a group of seafarers to the new land (Brazil) where they encounter natives and promptly massacre them. Subsequent events carry the fate of his group into the present, when a traveling theater troupe specializing in horror shows is a little too successful in convincing the local population that they are in a pact with the devil.

The strongest aspects of this film are the highly polished visuals. The production design is very atmospheric and many shots are simply beautiful. The story itself, drawing on Brazil's colonial history and touching on issues of race and superstition is also quite good, rich with interesting subplots that contribute to the overall picture, all the while offering a few twists here and there. The narrative is occasionally non-linear but this does not distract too much from understanding.

Regrettably, in the third act the film devolves into a splatterfest which at times borders on the silly. Even though there is plenty of bloods and guts in the earlier parts, it feels like this act belongs to a different film, as the story itself basically reaches the climax about half an hour before the movie ends. The few twists offered at the end of the film to tie everything together therefore fall flat.

Had the movie maintained the high quality of story development throughout the last act, it could have been spectacular. As it stands, the strengths of the movie only partially compensate for this major shortcoming.

For non-Portuguese speakers, the dubbing may also be an issue: the dialogue itself is fine, but the sound design of the voices does not match the acoustics suggested by the visuals well, and this took me out of the movie several times. If I had a choice, I would have preferred subtitles.