Watch At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul For Free

Touches You

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

You might expect that a horror movie from the 50s or 60s won't age well if it comes from not just a low-budget but from Brazil, but this is directed and acted with a really unique take on what an undertaker... does, basically. It follows the travails of Coffin Joe, who finds women and, well, I shouldn't say too much about what happens except that it really involves his wife who he tries to eliminate, and then sets his eyes to make sure his seed gets into the gypsy fiancée of his good friend. A lot of the appeal comes down to how Marins is as an actor, but also how he makes his low budget work for him. I don't think a studio budget, even from Corman or other, would do for this; this is more along the lines of what Bunuel had to work with in Mexico in the 50's. But what's keen is just how creepy this character is, how devilish and evil and so much fun to watch. This isn't to say it all works, and it may be the kind of early-foreign Grindhouse fare that is hard to categorize, but like Bunuel it also has its knives out in regards to religion (though not in the ways you'd expect). At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul is grotesque, brutal, campy, illogical, arguably both pro AND anti-woman (but also just as arguably anti-religion, or anti-a-hole-atheists who laugh in the face of, um, witches), surreal, and fun when it's not too weird. also gotta hand it to the director/star for the Day of the Dead finale, which bumps up this rating a full star.

At Midnight I Will Take Your Soul marks the debut of Brazilian director José Mojica Marins' cult character Zé do Caixão (AKA Coffin Joe), a sadistic undertaker who will go to any lengths to find a woman to bear his son (it's not easy to find a willing mate when you're a leering, sadistic creep in dire need of a stylist—those nails, that hat, the cape: they've just got to go!). To understand the film's importance in the annals of horror, one must put it into context: when it was originally released in 1964, the amoral nature of Marins' bizarre creation would have been extremely shocking to its native, largely Catholic audience—a truly disturbing villain who pushed the boundaries of taste.However, in today's cinematic climate, where blasphemy is no longer such a taboo, and violence has been pushed to extremes, At Midnight I Will Take Your Soul no longer possesses such an impact…As played by Marins, Zé comes across like a camp cape-swishing pantomime villain, more likely to elicit laughter than fear. His wanton behaviour is almost comical, as he proceeds to do whatever the hell he likes, raping and killing at will, the locals cowering in fear rather than forming a lynch mob and dealing with the fiend en masse, as they could so easily do. The film also features such trite spooky elements as a wizened old gypsy hag who warns Zé of his impending doom, a stuffed owl screeching from a tree, a raging thunderstorm, a foggy graveyard, and a ghost surrounded by badly animated glitter. One or two moments still hint at the power the film would have had on its original release—the brutal beating of Zé's friend's fiancée, Terenzinha, is surprisingly vicious, and the savage mutilation of a man's hand with a broken bottle was clearly explicit for the era—but there's almost nothing here to cause concern for modern day horror fans, making this one of interest only to cult movie addicts interested in seeing outdated oddities for the sake of completion.5/10 for making me laugh a bit.

Story about a funeral owner named Ze (Jose Mojica Marins) in some small Bazilian town. For some reason, he terrorizes the town mutilating people left and right. For whatever reason no one tries to stop him even when he cuts two fingers off a man and whips another brutally. His wife Lenita can't bear him children so he kills her. He then sets his sights on Terezhima, a girlfriend of his one friend Antonio. He drowns Antonio and beats Terezhima until she's bleeding and then rapes her. The movie goes on and on but I'm sure you get the idea.This is a no budget and pretty sick horror film. I know Ze (called "Coffin Joe" here in the U.S.) has his fans but I can't see why. There's next to no story line and it just shows us one scene after another of people being brutally beaten or killed. With the sole exception of Marins the acting is poor and the "special" effects are so obvious it's almost pretty funny. Wait till you see the ghosts that appear at the end! I only give this a 4 because I DO have to give Marins credit for making such a gory film in 1964. Also the non gore scenes--especially the ones in the forest and graveyard--are actually pretty atmospheric and the wild sound effects on the soundtrack (screaming and demonic laughter) actually work. Those scenes remind me (in a good way) of the old Universal horror movies of the 1930s and 40s.Still, this is a stupid and sick little horror item with bad acting and is surprisingly boring. What got to me was that nobody does anything when Ze is casually torturing people. Everyone just stands around like a bunch of idiots and watch. And wait till you see the witch here--talk about bad acting and overdoing it...

"At Midnight, I'll Take Your Soul" is one of the most original and clever films around.**SPOILERS**Tired of being a gravedigger in his town, Ze do Caixao, (Jose Mojica Marins) spends his free time with Terezinha, (Magda Mei) the fiancée of Antonio, (Nivaldo Lima) his best friend. Complaining about his wife Lenita, (Valeria Vasquez) and her inability to bear a child, he sets out to find a woman in the village to give one to him, but they all fail. Terezinha also wishes him to leave her alone, and he is so enraged he cuts a path of destruction through the village over anyone that stands up or opposes him. When they determine that he has done enough, the spirits of the damned arise from their graves and seek their vengeance against him.The News: This was a really impressive surprise and an entertaining film. The one thing that stands out the most in here is the overt and downright confrontational religious themes present. The ranting in the doctor's home, where after delivering a series of jabs at the church, the utter denouncement of all things religious is made, and it still packs a wallop. The utter contempt for the fears and superstitions of the town, from laughing at the priest while eating a piece of lamb meat on Good Friday, to committing several acts strongly adhered against religious doctrine, to the berating and beating down the others who think differently, all reinforce that assumption, and are made to believe that the fear is based on superstitious nonsense. Even the contempt of using a headband from a religious statue as a tool for beating in a fight becomes symbolic of the fact that religion is beating down those who view it as being peaceful and forgiving when it's forceful and oppressive is the final nail in the coffin for the metaphor. There's other aspects of the film, such as the memorable images created in here. The first time the titular character is on-screen, with the flowing cape, uni-brow, top hat and uncharacteristically long fingernails, all create a unique certainly menacing villain. His grand variations and wild movement make him all the more eccentric, and it's useful in making him different from the other crazed types out there. The one area where it's hard to top the film is the atmosphere. This is a really impressively designed film, where the film has a really creepy feel. The strange feeling whenever we're in town is exemplified by the strange behavior of the residents and until we get an explanation about who he is, the scenes with them frightened at the sight of him make for some really tense moments. The one scene that is unquestionably a masterpiece concerns the ending, which is so masterful that it really just stands out in the film. The cemetery where the action takes place is one of the most visually arresting cemeteries around, with giant bushes and trees around, creepy candles littering the ground and an air of morbid and unease around it. From the moment he walks in, with the wind howling over the trees and the voice-over explaining his demise and the ways it will come about, are nothing short of jittering and supremely suspenseful. As the other warnings start to come true in spectacular fashion, the dawning of it becomes apparent and the visions increase even more readily. The ethereal voices with the chanting in the background and the increasingly more out-of-control situations that transpire make the whole sequence a real highlight that has a hard time being topped. The brutality of the violence is also quite pleasant, and there is some nice deaths in here. From the slow, tortuous scene where a victim is slowly subjected to a spider slowly crawling over their leg and biting on the neck, to the repeatedly bashing over the head with blunt objects or a spiked headband, this one does have some very brutal, and intriguing kills in it. This is one pleasant surprise for a film.The Final Verdict: One of the most impressive horror films around, and a debut film just as good as anything out there, this was an extremely pleasant and rewarding surprise. Highly recommended to the most open of minds, as the themes present may not be for everyone, but is certainly worthy of a watch at any rate.Rated UR/R: Graphic Violence and a mild Rape