Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 1st, 2011
One of the (many) reasons that Scream 3 was such a weak entry is that it tried to riff on the rules of trilogies, when, at the time of its release, there really weren't any horror film trilogies, with notable exception of the Omen series (and the not-so-notable exception of the trio kicked off by Captive Wild Woman in 1943). But the last few years have seen the completion of two horror trilogies, whose third parts were a very long time in coming. Dario Argento wrapped up his Three Mothers trilogy with the disappointing Mother of Tears in 2007. And now, hitting home video, is a primal roar that also happens to be José Mojica Marins' 2008 conclusion to his Coffin Joe saga.
Despite his enormous list of crimes and his total lack of repentance, Coffin Joe (Marins) is released from prison after serving a mere 40 years. Administrative bungling appears to lie behind his freedom – a hint of the vein of mordant humour that runs through the film. Met outside prison by his hunchbacked assistant Bruno (Rui Rezende), Joe is at first thrown by the 21st-Century metropolis he finds himself in, and Marins has some fun with the Gothic and wildly out-of-place Joe and Bruno stumbling along through the traffic. But things take a darker turn very quickly, once Joe is back in the slums, and embarks once more on his quest for the superior woman who will bear his son, and ensure the immortal continuity of his blood.
