The Strange World of Coffin Joe
Encyclopedia
The Strange World of Coffin Joe (original title: O Estranho Mundo de Zé do Caixão) is a 1968 Brazilian
horror film
by Brazilian filmmaker José Mojica Marins, who is known by his alter ego
Zé do Caixão
(in English, Coffin Joe). The film is a collection of three short films titled O Fabricante de Bonecas (The Dollmaker), Tara (Obsession), and Ideologia (Theory). Despite the title, the character of Coffin Joe does not appear in the film, and the film is not a part of the Coffin Joe trilogy (At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul
, This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse, and Embodiment of Evil
). The hymn
-like title song was written by Marins, and performed by Edson Lopes
and Brazilian Samba
band Titulares do Ritmo.
A story about a local doll
maker who is very popular for realistic dolls, which are made by his four beautiful daughters. A group of robbers, overhearing that the doll maker does not keep his money in a bank, proceed to attack the old man in his shop. The doll maker seemingly faints during the attack and the attackers try to rape his seductive daughters. Resistive at first, each of the women begins to notice the "beautiful eyes" of the attackers and become accepting and even encouraging of their advances. When the recovered dollmaker appears in the room, each daughter quickly and silently takes leave of their attackers, leaving them to be shot and killed by their father. The following scenes reveal that this is the technique by which the doll maker obtains the realistic eyes for his dolls. (18 minutes)
Cast: Vany Miller, Veronica Krimann, Paula Ramos, Esmeralda Ruchel, Luís Sérgio Person,
Mário Lima
, Rosalvo Caçador, Toni Cardi, Messias de Melo, Leila de Oliveira.
becomes obsessed with a beautiful woman who he sees passing daily. He begins to follow her and observe her activities, when, watching her wedding, he sees her murdered. After being turned away from her funeral, he later returns and breaks into the mausoleum
where her coffin
is placed. Opening the coffin, he removes her burial wedding dress, has sex with the body
and performs foot fetishism. After redressing her, he places a pair of beautiful new shoes on her feet, shoes that the balloon seller retained after she dropped them while shopping, hoping one day to return them to her.
Cast: George Michel Serkeis, Iris Bruzzi, Arnaldo Brasil, Ana Maria, Pontes Santos,
Antonia Siqueira, Guilermina Martins, Wilson dos Santos, Bettyr Dorffer, Luis Carlos Vianna.
, in an attempt to prove that the instinct overcomes reason and love. (34 minutes)
Cast: José Mojica Marins, Osvaldo de Souza, Nidi Reis, Nivaldo de Lima, Salvador do Amaral, Kátia Dumont, Dario Santos,
Carla Sotis, Jean Silva (Garret), Palito, Laércio Laurelli (doubling as the voice of José Mojica Marins).
Cinema of Brazil
Brazilian cinema was introduced early in the 20th century but took some time to consolidate itself as a popular form of entertainment. The film industry of Brazil has gone through periods of ups and downs, a reflection of its dependency on State funding and incentives.- Early days :A couple of...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
by Brazilian filmmaker José Mojica Marins, who is known by his alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
Zé do Caixão
Zé do Caixão
José Mojica Marins is a Brazilian filmmaker, actor, screenwriter, and television and media personality. Marins is also known by his alter ego Coffin Joe . Although Marins is known primarily as a horror film director, his earlier works were Westerns, dramas and adventure films...
(in English, Coffin Joe). The film is a collection of three short films titled O Fabricante de Bonecas (The Dollmaker), Tara (Obsession), and Ideologia (Theory). Despite the title, the character of Coffin Joe does not appear in the film, and the film is not a part of the Coffin Joe trilogy (At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul
At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul
At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul is a 1963 Brazilian horror film, by filmmaker/actor José Mojica Marins. Marins is also known by his created alter ego Coffin Joe . It is also Brazil's first horror film, and it marks the first appearance of Marins' character Zé do Caixão...
, This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse, and Embodiment of Evil
Embodiment of Evil
Embodiment of Evil is a 2008 Brazilian horror film by Brazilian film director José Mojica Marins. Marins is also known by his alter ego Zé do Caixão . It is the third installment of his Coffin Joe trilogy...
). The hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
-like title song was written by Marins, and performed by Edson Lopes
Edson Lopes
Edson Lopes is a Brazilian classical guitarist, composer and arranger.-Biography:Edson Lopes studied in Brazil at the Conservatory of Musical and Dramatic Arts "Dr. Carlos de Campos" in Tatuí with Pedro Cameron, and in England at Trinity College, London. He performs throughout Brazil as a soloist...
and Brazilian Samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
band Titulares do Ritmo.
The Dollmaker (O Fabricante de Bonecas)
Doll
A doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have traditionally been used in magic and religious rituals throughout the world, and traditional dolls made of materials like clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls...
maker who is very popular for realistic dolls, which are made by his four beautiful daughters. A group of robbers, overhearing that the doll maker does not keep his money in a bank, proceed to attack the old man in his shop. The doll maker seemingly faints during the attack and the attackers try to rape his seductive daughters. Resistive at first, each of the women begins to notice the "beautiful eyes" of the attackers and become accepting and even encouraging of their advances. When the recovered dollmaker appears in the room, each daughter quickly and silently takes leave of their attackers, leaving them to be shot and killed by their father. The following scenes reveal that this is the technique by which the doll maker obtains the realistic eyes for his dolls. (18 minutes)
Cast: Vany Miller, Veronica Krimann, Paula Ramos, Esmeralda Ruchel, Luís Sérgio Person,
Mário Lima
Mário Lima
Mário Lima is a Brazilian actor and film and television producer. He produced and acted in many films by Brazilian filmmaker José Mojica Marins.-Filmography:*My Destiny in Your Hands as Actor*Adventurer's Fate as Actor...
, Rosalvo Caçador, Toni Cardi, Messias de Melo, Leila de Oliveira.
Obsession (Tara)
A poor and unattractive balloon seller with a foot fetishFoot Fetish
Foot Fetish is the first solo studio album by the Jackyl's lead singer, Jesse James Dupree.- Track listing :All songs written by Jesse James Dupree except where noted.# "Mainline" – 3:25 # "First Taste of Freedom" – 3:53...
becomes obsessed with a beautiful woman who he sees passing daily. He begins to follow her and observe her activities, when, watching her wedding, he sees her murdered. After being turned away from her funeral, he later returns and breaks into the mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
where her coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
is placed. Opening the coffin, he removes her burial wedding dress, has sex with the body
Necrophilia
Necrophilia, also called thanatophilia or necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses,It is classified as a paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The word is artificially derived from the ancient Greek words: νεκρός and φιλία...
and performs foot fetishism. After redressing her, he places a pair of beautiful new shoes on her feet, shoes that the balloon seller retained after she dropped them while shopping, hoping one day to return them to her.
Cast: George Michel Serkeis, Iris Bruzzi, Arnaldo Brasil, Ana Maria, Pontes Santos,
Antonia Siqueira, Guilermina Martins, Wilson dos Santos, Bettyr Dorffer, Luis Carlos Vianna.
Theory (Ideologia)
Psychotic professor Oãxiac Odéz (José Mojica Marins) invites a rival professor and his wife to his home, then imprisons them and submits them into a series of sadistic ordeals, starvation, and displays of shocking rituals involving sadism and cannibalismCannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
, in an attempt to prove that the instinct overcomes reason and love. (34 minutes)
Cast: José Mojica Marins, Osvaldo de Souza, Nidi Reis, Nivaldo de Lima, Salvador do Amaral, Kátia Dumont, Dario Santos,
Carla Sotis, Jean Silva (Garret), Palito, Laércio Laurelli (doubling as the voice of José Mojica Marins).