After more than a year away from the
subject Cort Psyops and I finally return to the cinema of Zé do Caixão a.k.a. Coffin
Joe! EMBODIMENT OF EVIL (2008) is the long delayed third film in the trilogy of
tales about the mad undertaker and his quest for a woman to bear him the
perfect child. As this film begins his frantic search has been on hold for
forty years while he was kept locked away in a dank Brazilian prison. Once released
his hunt is aided by a fanatical cult of followers that are willing to do their
master’s bidding no matter what he demands. It seems that while he was
imprisoned the world might have caught up with Coffin Joe’s dark vision of
humanity. Pursued by two government officers and a priest driven to stop Zé do
Caixão even if it means murder, Joe cuts a bloody path through the city’s
underbelly terrorizing anyone in his way. Will he finally succeed in his life’s
goal or will his enemies find a way to end his life?
Cort and I dig into this one
in much the same way we did the first two films. We examine the dark outlook on
the world that writer/director/ actor José Mojica Marins puts forth with his signature
creation to determine how much of it we share. We discuss the structure of the
story, the smart use of the decades long gap as part of the narrative and the
clever use of footage from the previous films to enhance this last tale. We talk
a bit about the beauty of the ugliness the movie displays as well as the
amazing and effective special effects that are used to create the ghosts that
haunt Coffin Joe’s mind. It’s rare that a filmmaker gets the chance to return
to his creation after so long a break and even more rare for the return to be
as impressive as the earlier work. Some of the images in this movie linger with
the viewer for months afterward which is something I’m sure would put a smile
on Marins' face.
If you have any comments
about the show or Coffin Joe the email address is thebloodypit@gmail.com where we’ll be
thrilled to hear from you. As we mention near the end of the show Cort and I
plan to cover more of Marins work eventually after we cleanse our palette with
something less grotesque. If you have suggestions for that please let us know.
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