Profile: Coffin Joe
Posted by bob in News on August 10th, 2008
On Wednesday, we mentioned Undertaker, an animated short paying tribute to Brazil’s premiere horror figure, Coffin Joe. Of course, not everyone knows who the man is and with his Embodiment of Evil now wrapped and hopefully to be released here next year we figured it was time to review.
Coffin Joe is the screen persona of Brazilian filmmaker José Mojica Marins (born March 13, 1936). Today he is primarily known as Zé do Caixão (in English, Coffin Joe), director/actor of the country’s first horror film.
Exposed to cinema at an early age, thanks to his father running a theater, Marins was drawn to the darker, more gothic films. He made his first film at age 12 and is said to have completed about 80 short films by the time he turned 18. He outdid the more professional thrillers with graphic imagery, a harbinger of things to come.
As an adult, he found work in the Brazilian film industry, first as an actor in 1958’s Sentença de Deus. Later that year, he proved himself a hyphenate, writing, producing and directing Sina de Aventureiro (Adventurer’s Fate). Marins subsequently worked steadily in one, usually two, capacities on films.
Marins first appeared on screen as Coffin Joe in 1963, replacing the original actor cast in À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma (At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul). Audiences first met Coffin Joe as an undertaker in his official black suit, cape and top hat. What made him stand out and caused fear among the locals were his unusually long fingernails.
Coffin Joe’s character evolved through a series of film appearances so he went from being married with friends to an extremely disciplined figure, disapproving of organized religion and a desire to father the perfect son. His interest in the “continuity of the blood” is a recurring theme as is his willingness to slay anyone standing in his way of achieving this goal. Having said that, Coffin Joe is also a protector of the innocent such as the time he saved a child from a motorcyclist in This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse, considering Brazil’s first original horror film. As a result, Coffin Joe is considered the first horror character hailing from the country.
Monstersatplay reviewed the films on DVD and noted, “Coffin Joe is known for spreading madness across his village as he skulks around town with his cape, top hat and overgrown fingernails of doom. The flicks in this set span from about 1964 to 78, and as many times as I’ve seen these movies they never cease to amaze me. Marins was a genius, and way ahead of his time…he’s definitely one of the most underrated horror icons the film industry has ever known and his films have incredible replay value. Newbies are almost guaranteed to get sucked in whether it’s caused by sheer disgust and repulsion, or unabashed amazement and adoration; Marin’s flicks are real eye openers.”
Marins continued to play Coffin Joe through the years and maintained long fingernails as a character trait until he more or less retired the character, cutting his nails in 1998. In 2006, he resurrected the character for Embodiment of Evil, which he shot in November and December of that year although work is said to have been finished only this year. It is said to be the final chapter of a loosely-linked trilogy along with At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul and continued in This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse. Embodiment has been signed by 20th-Century Fox for release although no domestic date has been announced.
A 1968 documentary on Marins was entitled Strange World of Coffin Joe and in 2001 there was a more complete film, Coffin Joe: The Strange World of José Mojica Marins. The latter received the special jury prize at 2001’s Sundance Film Festival.
