Diagonaldi Very well executed

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Red-Barracuda Embodiment of Evil is the third in José Mojica Marins' Coffin Joe / Zé do Caixão trilogy. In them all Marins plays the said anti-hero who is an atheist grave-digger who antagonises the folks who live around him. In the first two movies his antics were restricted to a small village but in this latest instalment he his released from prison and immediately starts wreaking havoc in São Paulo. So the scope does seem to be a little bit wider and the budget does seem to be noticeably larger. I am guessing that cinema fashion had finally found Coffin Joe's type of movie in vogue in 2008. In the past ten years or so there has been an increase in horror films that focus on sadism and torture. Well, it has to be said that this was precisely the kind of thing Marins was doing in his Coffin Joe films back in the 60's. So the resurrection of the character forty years later sort of makes sense.The first two films in the trilogy were At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul (1964) and This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse (1967). Both were pretty extreme for their time in terms of sadism but both also were generally pretty weird with elements of surrealism thrown in for good measure. With Embodiment of Evil there is no way on Earth you could say that Marins has mellowed out. In fact, this latest instalment is up there with all the latest sadistic horror films in terms of sheer grotesque depravity and excess. However, what sets it apart from most of those is the demented imagination on display. In amongst the sadism is a twisted imagination and many striking visual moments. It wouldn't be a Marins movie without this. So, in the end, this is a very worthwhile end to the trilogy and one that will certainly be appreciated by Coffin Joe aficionados as well as those who like the more visceral side of the horror genre.

Corpus_Vile Pyschopathic grave digger coffin Joe is finally released (or is it unleashed?) after serving 40 years in prison, where he is greeted by his fawning hunchbacked minion Bruno. Now, you'd think that serving 40 years in a Brazilian prison would break a man's spirit. Not Coffin Joe. For as we all know, The Embodiment Of Evil that is Coffin Joe is no ordinary man. So, he's barely out of chokey, and he's securing himself a lair, yet more minions, and unleashing havoc on contemporary Brazil, as he continues his quest to secure for him a woman who will spawn his perfect son. However, there's other factors at play, such as haunting visions from his past not to mention the children of Joe's previous victims, as well as surviving ones, keen to exact revenge forty years later. Will they succeed? Or will Coffin Joe finally triumph in his hellish vision?Embodiment Of Evil is an awesome contemporary exploitation horror and a very welcome return to form for director Jose Marins. Throwing in everything but the kitchen sink in terms of content, with some jaw dropping set piece torture sequences, some of them conducted for real, using body performance artists, it cheerfully pushes the exploitative envelope and delivers in spades for any fan. Marin, despite being in his 70s by now, could certainly teach these young whippersnapper directors such as Rob Zombie or Eli Roth a thing or two about real exploitation, and Embodiment of Evil is a contemporary Coffin Joe gem. It holds its sub plot elements together surprisingly well, and the viewer is still treated to Joe's iconic camp rants against God, the Church and The State in general. There's even some brief social commentary thrown in for good measure.8.5/10, rounded off to 8 by IMDb, it's well recommended for Coffin Joe fans, and fans of lurid exploitative horror in general.Welcome back Joe... You've been away far too long amigo.

MARIO GAUCI This is only the third official Ze' De Caixao/Coffin Joe movie after AT MIDNIGHT I'LL TAKE YOUR SOUL (1964) and THIS NIGHT I'LL POSSESS YOUR COPRSE (1967), though there are a number of others in which he appears (and which Mojica Marins directed) – not least two more I own, STRANGE WORLD OF COFFIN JOE (1968) and AWAKENING OF THE BEAST (1970). For the record, I also have the little-seen STRANGE HOSTEL OF NAKED PLEASURES (1976) and INFERNO CARNAL (1977) from this Brazilian cult figure. Though I cannot say I was bowled over by the first two entries in the series, I enjoyed them to a certain degree (on the other hand, I positively disliked AWAKENING, which was the only other one I had watched so far).While this has typically been greeted with enthusiasm by ardent fans, I was skeptical about it myself – but, seeing it available on Blu-Ray at my local DVD rental outlet, I sprung for it regardless. Incidentally, it is nice that exploitation veterans can still keep busy in today's very different climate (even if, like here, they have to stoop to the level of 'Torture Porn' now in vogue): I had watched the idiosyncratic but below-par effort by the late Jean Rollin, Fiancée' OF Dracula (2002), but was reasonably impressed with the Paul Naschy (also deceased by now) vehicle BLOOD RED (2004) and, for what it is worth, I also own Jess Franco's well-received SNAKEWOMAN (2005). Anyway, the film under review is definitely not bad for a modern horror film, though the DV-sourced photography (with its sharpness augmented by the HD transfer!) is rather unattractive.Coffin Joe is released from prison after 40 years (still in his top-hatted, cape and cane attire, not forgetting the disgusting extra-long fingernails!), by which time many had figured he had died. He still has his faithful servant waiting on him (on their way home, Ze' is even hit by a speeding car, from which he emerges amazingly unscathed!) and, who has acquired a number of other willing acolytes (that are immediately put to the test by their sadistic/blasphemous master). He is still trying to beget a son (in fact, one of the girls in his power offers herself up for the task) and has already set his sights on a number of prospective candidates, whom Joe torments into acquiescence (one is even forced to eat her own buttock!).An interesting aspect here is that Ze' is, if anything, an anguished boogeyman – as he is haunted by the victims from his previous outings (the women's original demises at his hands shown in flashbacks from their respective films)! At one point, he descends once more into Hell, albeit a different vision from the memorable one (and which is how I had actually first come across the character on late-night Italian TV) featured in Joe's 1967 'vehicle'. His nemesis here are two military officers behind an oppressive regime: actually, it was intended to be just one part but had to be split when the actor concerned died during filming! The Anchor Bay UK "Special Edition" disc included a half-hour "Making Of" which, apart from the typical behind-the-scenes vicissitudes, amply displays the esteem in which Mojica Marins is still held.

Claudio Carvalho After forty years in prison, the evil gravedigger Josefel Zanatas a.k.a. Zé do Caixão (José Mojica Marins) is released by the lawyer Lucy Pontes (Cristina Aché) in accordance with the Brazilian Laws. He moves to the slums with his followers that worship him, and he seeks out the perfect woman for his offspring while haunted by the ghosts of his victims. The vigilante brothers Captain Osvaldo Pontes (Adriano Stuart) and his brother Coronel Claudiomiro (Jece Valadão) from the Military Police chase Zé do Caixão in the slums to kill him and they find a track of tortured and mutilated bodies.The sick and trash "Encarnação do Demônio" impresses first because of the top-notch gruesome make-up and visual effects. However, the graphic violence is not recommended to sensitive viewers. The story, the screenplay and the acting are reasonable and the ham José Mojica Marins with his monologues is quite ridiculous, but funny. This is also the chance to say farewell to the great Brazilian actor Jece Valadão in his penultimate work. The last name of the character Josefel Zanatas means Satan backwards and misspelled in Portuguese (satanás / Sanatas / Zanatas). The result is a movie with potential of cult that works very well on DVD. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Encarnação do Demônio" ("Incarnation of the Devil")