This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse

This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse (Esta Noite Encarnarei No Teu Cadaver) (1967)

Runtime: 110 minutes

Directed by: Jose Mojica Marins (RIP)

Starring: Marins, Tina Wohlers, Nadia Freitas, Antonio Fracari, Jose Lobo

From: Iberica Films

February of this year, Brazilian actor/director/entertainer Jose Mojica Marins passed away at the age of 83; I knew that sometime in March I'll be viewing a film starring his most famous creation, Coffin Joe. The Halloween season of 2016 I viewed the first movie with that character-At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul-and had a grand old time with that so last night was this, the second in the series.

For those that need a capsule take on the character, Joe is an undertaker who is looking for someone to sire him a son... but the woman must be just right for him... someone who shares his twisted beliefs. Those include... hating how corruptible adults are, loving how pure children are, a loathing of “superstitious religion”, and more. He's a captivating character with his unique philosophy of trying to “be pure”, although he does some horrible things so don't think of him as any sort of hero. Saving a young boy from being run over is nice and all-along with befriending a disfigured hunchbacked individual-but he also kidnaps a sextet of women and while they're all locked in a room, releases a few dozen tarantulas to see which one is not afraid. In addition, he apparently gets in the mood by hearing the anguished screams of those women... 


This movie is pretty wild. I won't spoil many of the craziest moments... I'll just mention that there is an almost 15 minute sequence which stands out compared to the rest for reasons I won't detail here; that segment by itself is on YouTube-at least at this moment-and without any context clues you should figure which video I am referring to. There is plenty of Coffin Joe expounding his theories repeatedly... which for me is kosher as the villain is unforgettable between his unusual worldview, always clad in black and sporting fingernails a few inches long. The movie is as terrifying for how Joe manipulates people lacking in savvy as it is unleashing tarantulas or killing multiple people in gruesome ways. It is more complex than a typical 60's horror picture and I was glad to tip my cap to Jose Mojica Marins for creating a character from more than half a century ago that is still a cult favorite.