O Estranho Mundo de Zé do Caixão (1968)

Three episodes: A dollmaker whose dolls are eerily human, a tale of necrophilia, and a doctor proves love is dead.

Director:

José Mojica Marins

Writers:

José Mojica Marins (story), Rubens Francisco Luchetti (screenplay)

Stars:

Luiz Sérgio Person, Vany Miller, Mário Lima

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luiz Sérgio Person	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas") (as L. S. Person)
Vany Miller	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas")
Mário Lima	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas")
Verônica Krimann	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas")
Rosalvo Caçador	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas")
Paula Ramos	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas")
Tony Cardi	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas")
Esmeralda Ruchel	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas")
Messias de Melo	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas")
Leila de Oliveira	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas")
Jeff Ribeiro	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas")
Abigail de Barros	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas")
Carlos Campos	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas")
Nelita Aparecida	...	(segment "Ideologia")
Antônio Ravagnoli	...	(segment "O Fabricante de Bonecas") (as Antonio F. Ravagnolli)

Storyline

"O Estranho Mundo de Zé do Caixão" is a collection of three creepy and bizarre horror tales. "O Fabricante de Bonecas" ("The Dollmaker"): In Pirituba, Master Bastos is a respectable doll maker that lives with his four daughters in a remote area manufacturing dolls with impressive eyes. When four criminals break in his house to rob his money and rape his daughters, they learn why the doll's eyes are so realistic. "Tara" ("Perversion"): A poor balloon seller has a crush on a young woman and stalks her. On her wedding day, the woman is stabbed in front of the church by another woman and dies. After her funeral, the man breaks in her crypt and spends the night with her to satisfy his obsession. "Ideologia" ("Ideology"): After a debate on a TV show with the journalist Alfredo about the nonexistence of love, Professor Oaxiac Odez invites Alfredo and his wife Wilma to visit him. Professor Odez offers to prove to Alfredo that the instinct prevails over reason, and brings the couple to the ...

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Plot Keywords:

dollmaker | doll | rape | torture | necrophilia | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Details

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

25 November 1968 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Strange World of Coffin Joe

Filming Locations:

Calçados Dima, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ibéria Filmes

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the segment "The Dollmaker", the shooting takes place under the image and the subtitle "Sagrados Corações de Jesus e Maria Avençoem Esta Casa" [the holy hearts of Jesus and Mary bless this home].

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Connections

Referenced in Nekromantik (1987)

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Soundtracks

Zé do Caixão
(musical theme)
Written by José Mojica Marins
Played by Titulares do Ritmo, and
Sung by Edson Lopes

User Reviews

Bizarre Brazilian horror tale

I've always felt José Mojica Marins (aka Zé do Caixão, 'Coffin Joe') is somewhat of a pioneer in Brazilian cinema. Brazilian films tended, at the time, to be mere pornography (both hardcore and softcore), while now it tends to be too much 'engaged on social causes' rather than in the 'good entertainment' aspect of cinema (Brazilian romantic comedies are not GOOD entertainment).

'Strange World of Coffin Joe', as well as most of JMM's filmography, are an exception to those (which might be why he is often marginalized within Brazilian cinema): they are merely fun, eerie horror films entailing bizarre and creepy tales.

In here, we don't have Zé do Caixão appearing in character (unless you count the narration at the beginning). 'Strange World' is an anthology film, with three separate stories:

'O Fabricante de Bonecas' ('The Dollmaker') is about an old man, renowned for making dolls with impressively realistic eyes, and a group of burglars who try to steal his money and have their way with his beautiful daughters. It is an eerie and atmospheric horror tale, with a very predictable but fitting twist ending and full of eroticism that makes it a 'pleasant' watch.

'Tara' ('Fetish') is something that could easily pass off as an European drama: a tale of necrophilia about a man with a foot fetish who goes to a morgue after the now-dead woman he often fantasized about. It is pure depravity that is not far from a Pasolini film; to complete its 'artistic' aesthetic, it has no dialogue. The camera-work is good, but unless you want to see plot less perversion it should be avoidable.

'Ideologia' ('Ideology') is the only story JMM appears in (not as Zé, though). He plays a professor who, trying to prove that 'love' doesn't exist, imprisons a rival (who publicly argued this matter with him) and his wife and tortures them both to see how far their 'love' can endure in life-or-death situations. It has as much perversion as 'Tara', but not a meaningless one at that; the discussion is actually a very good one (done in JMM's trademark rhetoric of 'instinct vs reason') and the conclusion is good.

Overall, 2 out of the 3 stories are not only watchable but very fun and eerie tales. 'The Dollmaker' is the best horror-wise, but 'Ideology' manages to be one of the few 'torture porns' not to be mindless. The title song is also great if you understand what it's about.

For those not used to José Mojica Marins horror tales, though, his 'Coffin Joe' films are a better place to start with his filmography.