AWAKENING OF THE BEAST (1970) ****

Nearly a quarter of a century before Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, Jose Mojica Marins made a similarly Meta sequel to his Coffin Joe franchise that blurred the line between “reel” and “real”.  It’s not as consistent as his earlier films, but it is pure dynamite when it really gets cooking. 

A shrink bemoans the increasingly abhorrent sexual behavior in society, particularly when it comes to young people and drug abuse.  He seems to want to lay much of the blame on the films of Jose Mojica Marins.  While preparing his next book, he performs an experiment where he gives the subjects LSD after watching This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse.  They then proceed to experience hellacious visions of torture starring none other than Coffin Joe himself. 

Awakening of the Beast is a tad uneven at times, but there’s so many jaw dropping moments here that it manages to be more than a sum of its parts.  The first act of the movie is pure sexploitation.  The unconnected segments almost play like a precursor to the Schoolgirl Report series.  Marins appears briefly in the second act as himself as he is forced to defend his work against baseless accusations. 

Those frustrated by the lack of Coffin Joe in the first hour will be rewarded in the third act.  It’s here where Marins takes center stage as Coffin Joe appears to guide the test subjects through their drug trip.  From this point on, the movie really kicks ass.  Right after the characters take acid, the film switches to color (just like This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse) and Marins’ flair for ghoulish spectacle is on full display.  I’m not saying I understood some of it and I’m not sure “understanding” it was the point.  (It is one long drug trip after all.)  What I do know is some of the shit in the last ten minutes or so is unforgettable.  (Those “buttheads” are especially freaky.)  Because of that, Awakening of the Beast is one hell of a trip. 

AKA:  Ritual of the Maniacs.

THE STRANGE WORLD OF COFFIN JOE (1968) ****

After the incredible one-two punch of At Midnight I Take Your Soul and This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse, director Jose Mojica Marins and his amazing creation Coffin Joe made a slight pivot.  This time he returns with a wild horror anthology that is nearly as good as its predecessors.  Despite the fact that it’s called The Strange World of Coffin Joe, the title character only appears briefly in the intro.  (At least Marins takes center stage in the third story where he plays a thinly veiled variation on Joe.)

The first story is “The Dollmaker” (****).  An old man and his four virginal daughters make beautifully handcrafted dolls.  One night, four men break into their home and rape the daughters.  The men soon learn the terrible secret behind the dolls’ lifelike eyes. 

If you’re making a horror anthology, having a story about creepy dolls is a veritable prerequisite.  What’s interesting about this one is that it doesn’t lean into the supernatural realm as it’s essentially a tale of revenge.  That doesn’t mean it isn’t atmospheric as hell.  The shots of the eyeless dolls’ empty sockets are particularly eerie. 

“Obsession” (****) is next.  A pathetic balloon salesman pines for a sexy woman who passes him by on a daily basis.  After the woman is murdered (on her wedding day, no less), the hunchbacked street vendor sneaks into the woman’s crypt and violates her corpse. 

This one has a great gimmick as it’s told without dialogue.  That helps to amplify the atmosphere that Marins has created.  He also does a fine job of tiptoeing around some pretty icky subject matter.  Some may be miffed by the abrupt ending, but the fact that there is essentially (spoiler) no plot twist is more surprising than anything O. Henry could’ve come up with. 

The final tale is “Ideology” (****).  Marins stars as a professor who goes on national television and claims love doesn’t exist.  One of the hosts is intrigued by his proclamation and the professor invites him and his wife to his home.  There, he shows them various displays of vulgar lust and depraved degradation and puts their love to the test. 

Although Marins dresses similarly to Coffin Joe, he acts differently enough to make the professor come off as a distinct character in his own right.  He still has the same kind of hardline viewpoints that make Joe so much fun.  Directing wise he does another fantastic job.  Marins effectively blurs the line between sex and horror during the sequences inside the professor’s dungeon where the kinky goings on make Madame Olga look like Mother Teresa.

So, if you like your horror anthologies a bit more on the depraved side, you should definitely take a trip to The Strange World of Coffin Joe.

THIS NIGHT I’LL POSSESS YOUR CORPSE (1967) ****

Coffin Joe (Jose Mojica Marins) returns looking for a woman who will give him a male offspring.  (“Man is only immortal through the fetus!”)  To achieve his goal, he kidnaps women from his village, which naturally riles up the menfolk.  He eventually finds his mate in Laura (Tina Wohlers) who says, “I don’t mind being the mistress of the Devil!”

What I like about Joe is that although he is technically correct about some of his ideals, the way he goes about fulfilling his ambitions is often monstrous.  In some ways, he reminds me of Magneto in that he rallies against the evil inherent in man in an evil way.  However, he is insulated by his beliefs, which makes him blind to the fact that he is fighting tyranny by being tyrannical. 

He’s also full of fascinating contradictions.  Even though he detests people, he has a soft spot for kids and even saves one from being struck by a motorist.  Yes, I know a main character that’s obsessed with eugenics and creating a “perfect race” would be considered “problematic” by today’s standards.  That said, with his top hat, unibrow, and long ass nails, Coffin Joe is such a badass that you can’t help but root for him. 

This sequel to At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul is full of impressive and atmospheric sequences.  The highlight comes when Coffin Joe unleashes a horde of spiders on his potential brides while they are sleeping.  There’s also a gnarly bit where he throws acid in a woman’s face.  When we’re talking about Marins as a director, the most obvious comparison is Mario Bava.  However, it’s the strong religious and social themes that set his work apart from his contemporaries and makes him a one-of-a-kind filmmaker. 

The movie really takes off when Joe is dragged down into Hell.  It’s here where the film switches from black and white to full color.  Think Wizard of Oz, but like a hundred times cooler.  Speaking of being cool, Marins’ depiction of Hell is one of the most inventive and original in cinema history.  Instead of the traditional flames, Hell is an endless series of icy caverns where workers whip and stab frozen prisoners. 

Marins’ next was The Strange World of Coffin Joe. 

AKA:  This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse.  AKA:  This Night Will Make Your Corpse Incarnate.  AKA:  Tonight I Will Eat Your Corpse.  AKA:  Tonight I Will Make Your Corpse Turn Red.  AKA:  Tonight I Will Paint in Flesh Color.  

FACES OF DEATH (2026) ** ½

Remaking Faces of Death is a risky proposition.  Renting the video was a rite of passage for many people back in the ‘80s.  Word of mouth (most of which stemmed from its questionable authenticity), combined with its notoriety, ensured it would have a long shelf life.  (One character in this movie refers to it as “the original viral video!”)  How can you replicate that kind of success in the age of social media and Tik Tok where you can see all kinds of fucked-up shit on your phone?   Well, the filmmakers have come up with a way, and it works… up to a point. 

The conceit is that a serial killer is remaking scenes from Faces of Death and posting them on a social media platform called Kino.  Barbie Ferreira is a moderator for the site who flags suspicious and/or inappropriate content.  When the videos cross her desk, she is fascinated and appalled by them.  She does some digging and learns the killer’s location and sets out to save his latest victim.  By doing so, she runs the risk of starring in his next recreation. 

If you have to remake Faces of Death in this day and age, I guess this is the way to go about it.  However, it’s a “damned if you, damned if you don’t” proposal.  If you go too hard on the gore, you’ll get called out for taking things too far.  If you water it down, you run the risk of alienating fans of the series.  By taking the Meta approach, the film is able to let itself off the hook.  Since a “bad guy” is committing the crimes, it absolves the viewer from any guilt of watching scenes of death and slaughter.  Instead, it flips the guilt to the characters in the film that want to be “internet famous”. 

There are some good moments here to be sure.  The recreations of the scenes from the original are well done.  The biggest kick, however, comes from seeing clips of the original on the big screen, albeit briefly.  I also liked the fact that Barbie was a plus-sized Final Girl, which is something you rarely see in horror, if ever. 

I just have a feeling that if you took Faces of Death out of the equation, there wouldn’t be much to it.  If the killer was making a regular snuff movie, it would’ve been okay, I guess.  The Meta approach certainly gives it an interesting wrinkle, but unfortunately the filmmakers kind of sever the connection to the original by the time the third act rolls around, and the killer begins taking “artistic license” with the murders. 

Oh, and despite what you may have been led to believe, Charli XCX is barely in the movie.  She has two brief scenes as Barbie’s snippy coworker.  At least she acts like a total brat. 

Overall, Faces of Death isn’t bad.  Strictly taken as a slasher film, it gets the job done.  I just have a suspicion that no one is going to be sneaking it into slumber parties or renting it as a rite of passage any time soon. 

BRING HER BACK (2025) ** ½

After the death of their father, a pair of siblings, Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) are placed in foster care.  Their new foster mom Laura (The Shape of Water’s Sally Hawkins) dotes on the blind Piper and pretty much ignores Andy.  Right away, we learn something screwy is going on as her other ward Ollie (Jonah Wren Phillips) tries to strangle cats and eat knives.  Laura’s obviously off her rocker too as she manipulates both her new foster kids, but naturally, Piper is unaware of what’s going on.  Eventually, we discover Laura has her dead daughter locked in her freezer and she’s using Piper to… well… read the title. 

Bring Her Back comes to us from Danny and Michael Pillipou, the directing brothers behind Talk to Me.  Like that film, this one has some good moments.  I think I might give Bring Her Back the slight edge since it contains some choice gnarly bits of gruesomeness tucked in here and there.  (Like when the little kid starts eating everything in sight.)

Unfortunately, it’s one of those slow burn deals that takes its sweet time to get where it’s going.  Since we already pretty much know the destination, it makes for a rather long trip.  It doesn’t help that the audience is at an advantage since Piper is unaware of the shenanigans her new mum is pulling.  Add to that the fact the film relies on rather sensitive subject matter (grief, child abuse, foster care, etc.) for its shocks.  You also have to put up with the cliched scenes where nobody believes Andy (even Piper). 

The young cast members are quite good though.  Phillips is especially memorable as the creepy kid who runs around the third act with a distended stomach.  As the foster mom you love to hate, Hawkins really plays the role to the hilt.  Maybe if they decide to do a sequel they’ll bring her back. 

CRIME STORY (1996) ** ½

I remember renting this when it first came out but the tape was messed up, so I couldn’t watch past the first five minutes.  The store didn’t have another copy, so I never got around to checking it out.  Till now. 

Jackie Chan is a detective trying to foil the kidnapping of a crooked businessman.  He soon becomes suspicious of the detective he’s been partnered with.  Before long, he’s convinced the potentially crooked cop is the mastermind behind the abduction. 

Directed by Kirk Wong, Crime Story is definitely an outlier in Chan’s filmography.  I do find it interesting that one of the things that made Chan balk at becoming an action star in America during his brief stint in Hollywood in the ‘80s was his resistance to being groomed as a serious action hero, preferring to keep his jovial comical persona that he perfected in his Hong Kong movies.  However, Crime Story finds him in Hong Kong playing the kind of role he wasn’t keen on in America.  It’s a tough, mean, and sometimes violent movie; a real departure for Jackie to be sure. 

That’s not to say the stunt work isn’t great.  (There’s an impressive scene during a car chase where Chan drives a car down a steep incline.)  It’s just that it relies heavily on car chases and shootouts rather than the usual comedic hand-to-hand fighting and stunts we normally associate with Jackie.  We still get an okay fight scene atop some bamboo scaffolding and a snappy one on one fight between Chan and a suspect in the police station though. 

The results are fine.  It’s watchable.  The pacing is decent and the action is strong enough to give it a marginal recommendation.  (Lots of stuff goes boom in the finale.)  It’s just that if you’re looking for the heart, inventiveness, humor, and frankly, fun that made Chan a legend, you won’t find it here. 

Wong later came to America and directed Mark Wahlberg in The Big Hit (which incidentally felt more like a Chan movie than this one). 

AKA:  Hard to Die.  AKA:  New Police Story.  AKA:  Police Dragon.  AKA:  Serious Crimes Squad.

THE INSTRUCTOR (1984) ***

Bob Chaney IS The Instructor.  When he’s not imparting wisdom to his young karate students, he’s trying to avoid conflicts with the rival karate school in town.  After his best friend Thumper is severely beaten, The Instructor goes out for revenge. 

The Instructor is exactly the kind of Grade Z regional low budget action film I enjoy.  It contains equal amounts of awful and awesome, and the results are enormously entertaining more often than not.  If you were a fan of movies like Miami Connection and Champagne and Bullets, you should definitely check it out. 

Chaney (who looks like Burt Reynolds after receiving a nasty bee sting) is OK in the lead, but it’s the character of Mr. Fender that deserves recognition.  He has got to be the strangest supporting character I’ve seen in a long time.  He’s a middle-aged dude with Special Needs who picks his nose and looks like Dom DeLuise.  When we first see him, he’s running around town in a Ninja outfit trying to beat up little kids.  Later, during a big karate tournament, we inexplicably hear his inner monologue as he rationalizes stealing a trophy in the middle of a fight, which leads to tragedy.  His inclusion into this tomfoolery certainly adds to the WTF Factor. 

The fight scenes are mostly inept, but there are a few legitimately great moments sprinkled about.  I liked the early scene where Chaney takes on a Warriors-inspired gang and the part where his female student fends off some rapists works well too.  However, it’s the extended chase sequence that concludes the film that is the most memorable (and professional).  This scene features everything but the kitchen sink;  Corvettes, dirt bikes, chainsaws, waterfalls…  You name it, it’s got it.  It’s curious that the karate fights may actually be the weakest parts of the movie, which is odd considering it’s called… The Instructor. 

This was a “one and done” deal for Chaney and the director Don Bendell, who also played his best friend, Thumper.  Neither made any movies before or since.  I guess they wanted to quit while they were ahead.