Blu-ray Review: Embodiment of Evil
Embodiment of Evil (Blu-ray)
Distributed by: Synapse Films
Release Date: March 29, 2011
Directed by: José Mojica Marins
Starring: José Mojica Marins, Jece Valadao, Milhem Cortaz, Adriano Stuart, Rui Rezende, Christina Ache, Helena Ignez
Review by Marc Patterson
I might as well make a disclaimer about this review straight-away. If you’re expecting me to give Embodiment of Evil anything but a positive review you’re a total lunatic and probably don’t come here often. My devoted readers know I’ve been excitedly champing at the bit well over two years now in order to get an opportunity to see this film. I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself a super-fan of Coffin Joe, but let’s just say my love for this iconic figure of horror runs a bit deeper than the average horrorphile. That said, I’ll attempt to give this Blu-ray a fair trial.
Embodiment of Evil is the final part of a trilogy that began in 1963 with At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul, and ended abruptly in 1967 with This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse. For over forty years this trilogy remained incomplete until a young screenwriter and fan of Coffin Joe, Dennison Ramalho, decided to take the horse by the reins, and help José Mojica Marins get this final film made.
From the outset, such an endeavour might sound hairbrained and completely mad. It’s the sort of undertaking that becomes the subject for feature Hollywood films. Marins was then in his early seventies and we would look for him to costume up and haunt the streets of Brazil once again in order to finally see his bloodline continue? Madness! But was it? No, it was brilliant. Coffin Joe has been the franchise that was an anti-franchise. Thirteen films and not once was one made as a cash grab, or backed by a big studio. The profits from one film would literally go to finance the next. Marins would purchase a reel of film can by can and shoot as inventively as he could just to make his films! Every Coffin Joe film was a passion project and every Coffin Joe film showed that Marins was a filmmaker well ahead of his time. Embodiment of Evil proudly bears that stamp of integrity and maintains a faithfulness to the style that has made Coffin Joe a cult favorite and true original of horror.
Embodiment of Evil picks up forty years after This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse ends. Coffin Joe is finally being released from prison. The warden thinks it’s madness, but there is nothing he can do and he must release this devil back into the world once again. Bruno, Joseph’s hunchbacked assistant meets him at the prison gate and together they find their way back to Joe’s lair. But the world has changed. It’s modern. It’s loud. It’s fast-paced and Coffin Joe seems like an outdated relic in this world where superstitions are no longer given any mind. Worse, Joe is being tormented by nightmares, and haunted by the ghosts of past victims more frequently. He feels that his days are numbered and he must, at long last, find the perfect woman to bear his child before he dies.
Embodiment of Evil is unquestionably a wonderful ending to a trilogy that might have never seen a proper end. I’m so happy to have finally lived through this experience, and in fact premiered this Blu-ray disc in my house only after watching the first two films back to back. (It’s the only way!) That said, if you don’t have the first two films there’s no reason why you should deprive yourself of this third installment. It stands alone on its own very well and provides enough back story and flashback sequences that update the newbie, as well as those who haven’t experienced the originals in quite some time. After all, right now the Fantoma DVD’s are now out-of-print with only a precious few still floating about for sale.
Several things are especially worthy of being talked about in this final film. The violence can’t be ignored and should be addressed first. Everything that Marins was limited by in the 60’s, either from lack of funding or lack of developed technology, has been realized now in eye-popping color. The splatter factor is simply fantástico! There is an argument that can be made that filmmakers like Marins and HG Lewis invented the torture porn film, but I think it wouldn’t be properly fitting. These films have gore with style and story with substance. Embodiment of Evil is the embodiment of the modern gore flick. We all wonder what a modern Fulci flick might look like and I dare say you should consider Embodiment of Evil. It is only with sheer creativeness that a filmmaker can film a scene where he carves the buttocks off of a woman and then feed them back to her, while she lies in a drug-induced stupor, and walk away as being called visionary and not some sick reprehensible fuck. Of course I’m sure there are those who might call Marins such. I just happen NOT to be one of them. This is but one scene of many, but I simply refuse to spoil any details for would-be viewers.
Visually, this film embraces the earthy, Gothic aesthetic of the first two films, while presenting this wholly in color with only a limited few flashback scenes shown in black and white, which includes one scene that re-shoots the ending to This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse with a young actor who brilliantly re-creates a young Coffin Joe. In true Brazilian fashion this film is wildly colorful and the painstaking 2K digital transfer that Don May Jr. and company went through have made this film incredibly stunning to look at. If anyone, even the most hardcore cinephile, says otherwise then they are lying to you. Synapse maintains the gold standard when it comes to high quality digital transfers. They worked directly from the original camera negatives to ensure that this version is the finest version on the market, and that it even transcends the UK release. I haven’t seen the UK release to compare notes, but I’m clearly pleased with this presentation.
Fans of Coffin Joe will also appreciate the soundtracking and sound effect work. Constant screams of agony pepper the track, and the score is rich, dark and haunting. My wife sat from the adjacent room giving birth to an ulcer from the sheer agonizing terror she was listening to. She’s not a fan of horror (which is an amazing side-story of its own), so when I can make her start flipping on lights just from HEARING a film, well – as they say “compliments to the chef!”
Extras were the only area where I found myself to be a bit disappointed. There’s a making-of featurette, which was really more just rough behind the scene shots. Nothing special. There was another short feature from the Fantasia Film Festival Premiere, which was fun to watch and a worthy inclusion. The only other feature was the original theatrical trailer. I would have thought there could have been some nice interview footage with Marins and Ramalho, or a commentary track (even if it had to be translated). But nada. I’m not complaining heavily. I came here for the film.
I don’t feel like it would take a genius to say I highly recommend Embodiment of Evil. As I stated in my concurrent three-part retrospective, Coffin Joe is the original serial slasher that predates Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. He is truly immortal and I’m happy to spread his terror to any horror fan willing to listen. Check the film out and spread the fear!
