Coffin Joe is a man who, more than anything else in this world, wants to have a child. Unfortunately, his wife Lenita (Valéria Vasquez) cannot give him one. So, for a man who doesn’t take no for an answer, there’s only one thing to do—murder his wife. What follows is a hunt for a new woman, and Coffin Joe has no qualms about removing anyone who gets in his way. Quite the opposite.
José Mojica Marins is the man behind this Brazilian milestone of a film, which is not only one of the first horror films from Brazil but also historically groundbreaking in general.
The film contains several graphic scenes for its time—especially considering it was made shortly after the world’s first splatter film, Blood Feast—so we’re dealing with quite an original firestarter here. But it wasn’t the gore that caused the most controversy in Brazil in 1964; people accused the film of being blasphemous. Without a doubt, it’s a greater feat to create a controversial narrative than it is to provoke audiences with cheap effects. Here, we get both—but of course, that belongs to the past, as neither the plot nor the gore is particularly controversial by today’s standards.
Be aware that although this is a milestone in film history and Coffin Joe is the biggest horror icon in all of South America, this is far from a masterpiece. The film was made on a minimal budget, in minimal time, and by amateurs. Despite the poor acting, one needn’t worry that the actors don’t look scared enough—José Mojica Marins frightened the actors for real using, for instance, live spiders and other such tricks. Marins himself, in the role of Coffin Joe, is actually not bad at all. He delivers a committed performance and isn’t afraid to go all in—a role he was forced to take himself after failing to find anyone else willing to do it.
Some of the choices made for the special effects are downright turkey-level, even if Marins was quite pleased with the glitter he glued onto the film negatives. Still, the movie manages to whip up a delightful charm and atmosphere that allows you to overlook the bad effects, cheap sets, and poor acting.
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