Director José Mojica Marins travels to spend Christmas with friends on their small farm and write the screenplay for his next film. But he observes eerie things in the house. His friends are... Read allDirector José Mojica Marins travels to spend Christmas with friends on their small farm and write the screenplay for his next film. But he observes eerie things in the house. His friends are being possessed one by one by some supernatural evil force. Soon he learns that the matri... Read allDirector José Mojica Marins travels to spend Christmas with friends on their small farm and write the screenplay for his next film. But he observes eerie things in the house. His friends are being possessed one by one by some supernatural evil force. Soon he learns that the matriarch of the family had made a deal with local witch, Malvina, to get pregnant and save her... Read all
Featured reviews
Plenty of actors/directors with a cult following have made self-referential films; Lucio Fulci did it in 1990 with Cat in the Brain, recently Bruce Campbell did it with My Name is Bruce - and I'm sure many others have done it too. José Mojica Marins has always come across as a man with a high opinion of himself; and that comes through in this movie too, with all the action focusing on the actor himself and there's even time for him to compare his character to the most famous character of Arthur Conan Doyle! The Bloody Exorcism of Coffin Joe is filmed in the normal Coffin Joe style - namely, cheaply, although the style certainly does benefit the film and is the most striking thing about it. The film also carries on with the completely confusing style that plagued all the four previous Coffin Joe movies and that's a bit of a problem. It is possible to simply enjoy the movie because of what you're seeing on screen; but the film does start to get a bit boring before the credits finally roll. Overall, this is at least slightly better than the two Coffin Joe movies that went before it; but it will only really appeal to Coffin Joe fans, and I'm not one of them.
In some ways, this film is riding the coat-tails of William Friedkin's The Exorcist, with Marins' friends becoming possessed when he visits them over the Christmas holidays. Those affected turn into deranged red-eyed zombies that speak in demonic voices. There's even a scene where one of the possessed women masturbates with a wooden pole. But this is also very much a Marins' movie meaning that it gets rather strange at times, particularly towards the end when Malvina's coven performs a diabolic wedding ceremony and the director throws in as much torture, dismemberment and cannibalism as he can (the gore is totally unconvincing but still entertaining).
As is often the case with Marins' movies, there are pacing issues, the film really dragging during the talky parts, and I found myself struggling to keep up with what was happening when the going got really weird. The director's films are certainly not for everyone, but if you've already acquired a taste for his particular brand of lunacy, then you'll no doubt lap up this one as well.
Audiences familiar with the character Zé do Caixão, known internationally as Coffin Joe, will be able to better understand the plot and its context. Using metalanguage as its main resource, the plot dares to build a debate about the internal conflict between man and his creation, as if Mojica were pressured by the character's popularity. Filmed in the 1960s, the use of metalanguage, unusual for Brazilian cinema at the time, makes the script special and interesting. Despite the filmmakers' clear creativity, the film suffers from technical pacing problems, presenting a constant succession of supernatural moments that end up diluting the impact of certain scenes. The project is also hampered by circumstantial elements, such as the caricatured performances, the unconvincing practical effects and the director's characteristic trashy moments.
"Black Exorcism" is one of the most intimate and creative films in José Mojica Marins' filmography, consolidating itself as an essential work for understanding Brazilian horror cinema and its most influential author.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAriane Arantes's debut.
- ConnectionsEdited into VBS Meets: Coffin Joe (2009)
- How long is The Bloody Exorcism of Coffin Joe?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Black Exorcism
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Contribute to this page
