The Embodiment of Evil

Directed by Jose Mojica Marins;Starring Jose Mojica Marins, Jece Valado, Milhem Cortaz, Adriano Stuart, Rui Rezende, Cristina Ache Helene Ignez.

The Embodiment of Evil is the third installment of a trilogy that began way back in 1964 with " At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul" followed by " This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse" in 1967. Jose Mojica Marins alter ego is Ze`do Caixao, translated in English it reads Joe of the coffin or as it has become better known as Coffin Joe. Other than Marins there is no horror industry in Brazil his native country. According to Marins, the character of Coffin Joe came to him during a dream after proclaiming he had seen a dead man rise from his casket at a funeral he was attending as a child. Coffin Joe is a man of loose or no morals, being from a dominant Catholic country many of his films deal with very taboo subject matter, his films are not just censored but out and out banned in Brazil.
Coffin Joe's trade marks are his long cork screw like finger nails, beard, top hat and cape. The main idea behind the Coffin Joe films is basically his search of a woman who is worthy enough to bear him the perfect child so his legacy may continue.
Marins a director, adopted the Coffin Joe persona when a suitable actor for the part could not be found.
After serving a forty year sentence, Coffin Joe is being released from the city's asylum with much contempt from the warden. Joe's faithful man servant Bruno is there to greet him back into civilization, but much of the outside world has changed since his incarceration. The streets of Sao Paulo are filled with junkies, prostitutes and the latest sounds of hip hop music.
Back home, Coffin Joe wastes no time returning to his evil ways, Bruno has four minions waiting to be accepted by Joe. But first they must prove their loyalty by pulling the trigger of a pistol as they hold it to their own heads. Pleased that the new recruits are willing to sacrifice themselves for him, Coffin Joe puts them to work.
Bringing the Coffin Joe character into the 21st century means the sex and violence is amped up, fans of the Saw and Hostel series will not be disappointed but the complicated torture devices are missing . Instead the likes of some strategically placed melted cheese and a rat are used to convey a nasty message. In the sequel, " This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse" Joe is dragged from out of his bed by some sort of demon and is taken to Hell, this segment is filmed in colour and is filled with many surrealistic images. In the Embodiment of Evil coffin Joe is haunted by the ghosts of his victims as seen from the first two films in the series. Interestingly these ghosts are filmed in black and white. This time Joe finds himself in Purgatory which he witnesses a display of unpleasantness.
One thing is for sure, this is never boring, a lot is happening within the plot including two officers of the law that are bound and determined to put an end to Coffin Joe's evil ways. One officer has lost an eye and the other's throat slashed from confronting Joe in the past. They eventually team up with a sadistic priest who enjoys jumper cables and a car battery clamped to his nipples.There is never a shortage of grotesque images such as the likes of a naked woman emerging from the insides of a pig carcass.

My Final Thoughts: The Coffin Joe Films to me have never been about the acting, but the images presented whether they be ugly , grotesque or occaisionally beautiful.
My Rating : 4 Go Go Girls out of 5