At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul

At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul (A Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma) (1964)

Runtime: 84 minutes

Directed by: Jose Mojica Marins

Starring: Jose Mojica Marins, Magda Mei, Nivaldo Lima, Valeria Vasquez, Ilidio Martins Simoes


From: Industria Cinematogrifica Apolo

I am glad that the hype I heard about the character Coffin Joe was well-warranted. I talk all about it below:

Of course I have heard of Coffin Joe (i.e. Ze Do Caixao) before and how the character's been in a variety of Brazilian films over the decades and how his debut was the first ever Brazilian horror movie; yet, it wasn't until last night that I finally saw a Coffin Joe movie. As his debut can easily be found online, I figured that is what I should go with.

Until watching the movie I did not know too much about the character. Now I know that small Brazilian town undertaker Joe is obsessed with finding a woman to sire a son with. His wife can't conceive so you can guess how he deals with that. He then is on the prowl for the right woman to copulate with. You find out that besides always being dressed in black and typically wearing a black tophat, he is against religion, superstition, and people who don't want to pay when they lose at gambling. He doesn't like it when fathers abuse their kids... but don't think of him as a good guy; murder and maiming people isn't the only ghastly crime he commits.

Coffin Joe definitely is a fascinating character even if he is a terror of a human being. He is confident and loves who he is... someone who is different and he loves the fear of panic that his presence causes; pretty much the entire town is petrified of him. He even dares the spirits to come after him. The movie starts off on the right creepy note as a witch (who you later find out is a supporting character) tells the crowd that they can leave if they want to, so terrifying this town is. Oh, those old parlor tricks, you just don't get them anymore. From there this is definitely a macabre ghoulish tale filled with moments that are quite rough and bloody for a 1964 film. At times it's over the top, but in the best ways.

I definitely understand why Coffin Joe is a cult favorite; this was a lot of fun to watch, and star Jose Mojica Marins also did a nice job as the director. In the future you can rest assured I will see more Ze Do Caixao movies.