Although I had heard of the character, I spent far too many years not having experienced the movie magic of Coffin Joe. That changed when I finally watched At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, the Brazilian horror that I enjoyed enough to remind myself that I should check out as many of the instalments in the movie series as possible. It's been six years since I watched that earlier movie though, which just shows how bad I am at following up on my own mental "to do" list, and how hard it is to keep making progress through my ever-growing watchlist.
Following on from the events of the first film, although this works as a fairly standalone feature, Coffin Joe recovers from his injuries and returns to his village. He remains determined to find the perfect woman to bear his child, a plan that will lead to more deaths and more nightmarish visions for our dark and dangerous main character. That's pretty much all you need to know. Highlights include more diabolical use of spiders, a character literally caught between a rock and a hard place, and a vivid sequence that may or may not depict an actual trip to hell.
Once again directed by the star, José Mojica Marins, who also co-wrote the screenplay again, this time with Aldenora De Sa Porto, This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse is an even deeper journey inside the troubled mind of Coffin Joe. Although it's all plotted well enough, and has a narrative that is easy enough to follow, there are a couple of scenes that are brilliantly hallucinatory, blending with the other-worldly presence of Joe to deliver something that feels like one extended fever dream. That fever builds and builds, culminating in a fantastic and satisfying final sequence (although it should be noted that one main element was forced upon the film by Brazilian censores, and Marin was strongly opposed to it).
The cast all do good work, with both Nadia Freitas and Tina Wohlers impressing as two different women that have a strong effect on Joe, Antonio Fracari a strong presence as a thug who is tasked with taking down our devilish lead, and Nivaldo Lima is very Igor-like as, of course, a hunch-backed assistant named Bruno. Marins makes the right choice in giving himself the lead role though, and he's a captivating and consistently interesting presence, whether relishing in his diabolical plans or being scared out of his wits by visions of ghosts and Hell.
I seem to like this film more than many other people, from a very quick glance around at some of the other reviews available for it, but maybe that's down to me waiting about six years since watching the first film. I won't be waiting as long to get to the next film though, especially after having treated myself to a gorgeous boxset full of Coffin Joe goodness [although we're all still waiting on that replacement disc from Arrow Video].
7/10
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