Coffin Joe: At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul

Original Title: A Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma
(1963) **** 1/2

All I wrote in my notes was "Bad Assery" associated with the first in this CJ trilogy and I meant every syllable of it, though it doesn't help me much to write a legitimate review. I love it when old black & white flicks can pull off an enjoyable ensemble of two-dimensional characters. Jose Mojica Marins not only conceived of this character, but also directed and starred -- every ounce of his alma is present in each scene as he terrorizes the locals, ridicules their religious practices, and lusts after fertile women.

This guy is into some kinky stuff...

The plot for Midnight was covered thoroughly via memorable quotes by Johnny Sweatpants earlier this month, and by Catfreeek two years ago. I am jumping on the CJ bandwagon and can't wait to watch the next installment! I would recommend this to anyone -- and outside of the Horrorthon circle I know nobody who enjoys horror movies -- because despite its qualification for horror in the form of gypsies and corpses and the Day of the Dead, it is rather tame.

Only this bruja has the upper hand on CJ!

When I first heard of this title last year reading Catfreeek's reviews I couldn't help but conjure up a villain of my own: Coughin' Joe. Despite JSP thinking I'm a weirdo for being entertained by homophones, it brought back memories of one of my favorite movies, The Court Jester, and one particular [short] scene where Danny Kaye coughs uncontrollably.