Director: José Mojica Marins
Year: 1968
Country: Brazil
Alternate Titles: O Estranho Mundo de Zé do Caixão
Genre: Anthology
Plot:
Introduced by Coffin Joe himself, a trilogy of genre shorts is collected together in one feature-length film.
Review:
The Dollmaker-Famous for his high-quality dolls, a lonely doll maker is targeted by a group of thugs looking to use his property for their own, but when they arrive at his house to collect their prize find themselves stuck in a more dangerous situation than they thought. This was a fairly solid and generally likable effort. The initial setup centers on the overheard conversation and what it means for the group looking for an easy payday, who find that his treasured dolls might be their way out of financial trouble, leading to the break-in of his house, where they take over, holding his daughters hostage to do their bidding. After this, things get rushed a bit with the turn and eventual outcome of everything, which has a suitably grim tone and aftermath to everything that meshes nicely with the primitive effects for what’s going on, but it really could’ve used a bit more length to get everything sorted out, but that’s the main drawback to be had with this one.
Obsession-Infatuated with a beautiful woman, a lonely man tries everything he can to win her attention, which is soon revealed to be not even her untimely death can stop his obsession. This was a decent enough, if slightly flawed, segment. The initial premise here, trying to find the woman so that his obsession can be dealt with and they can be together, offers a fine series of setpieces about him stalking her around the city and where she lives, hoping for a chance to make amends, only coming up short each time. Once he finally can do something about it, her untimely death and his determination to be with her carry on driving him to some rather uncomfortable actions, which offer some solid Gothic Horror setpieces but feel somewhat unnatural, as if they’ve been taken to an extreme regardless of the build-up that’s gone on, as his unhinged nature doesn’t equate to what happens here. Thankfully, it’s not that detrimental, but it does stand out somewhat.
Theory-Desperate to prove a controversial theory, a doctor invites a skeptical colleague and his wife to his house for a demonstration, but when they arrive, they learn the cruel reason for his invitation. Overall, this was a wild if somewhat problematic way to finish this off. The main setup of the invitation to the house and his bizarre series of presentations that focus on sadistic sexual perversion and pleasures offers an uncomfortable tone to everything, much like the atmosphere here that changes once he takes them prisoner and forces the cannibalistic display to take place in front of them. This sets into motion a series of barbaric and cruel tortures that showcase his fevered control over everyone, setting up some fun reveals but highlighting how this all comes to pass when they’re held captive for days on end without anyone noticing or coming to their aid. The whole experiment makes no sense either and just seems to go on forever without any purpose, which makes this a somewhat intriguing finale.
Overview: ***.5/5
A generally solid and likable anthology effort, with most of the segments being more fun and enjoyable than anything, making for a great time here as this is far more enjoyable than expected. Those with an appreciation for the style, enjoy anthology films in general, or are massive fans of the creative crew will have a lot to like here, while most others that aren’t into those features should heed caution.
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