At Midnight I’ll Take your Soul (1964)

This is the 1st of the Coffin Joe movies.  This movie introduces Coffin Joe, who is the mortician/gravedigger of a small town.  We see early on that he isn’t a very nice guy and is capable of all sorts of violence.  When a man isn’t willing to give up the cash that he lost Joe uses a bottle to cut off some of his fingers, then uses the money to pay for a doctor!  That is the kind of guy that he is.  He doesn’t believe in anything, including God, and flaunts his disbelief every chance he gets.  The only thing that Joe does believe in is passing your bloodline down thru children.  Unfortunately his wife is unable to give him a son, so she has to go.  And when he wants his friend’s fiancé then he has to go.  This leads to more killing, but Coffin Joe doesn’t care.  That is until he again flaunts superstitions beliefs and ends up in the cemetery on the Day of the Dead.  The ghosts of his past catch up to him on that night. 

Let me start off my review with a warning.  While I really like this movie, it isn’t going to be for everyone.  There is an odd quality to the movie.  I wouldn’t say it was dreamlike, but I found it to be a bit surreal.  This is especially so at the end of the movie when you really don’t know if things are real or just in his mind, though the ending is pretty certain.  The movie requires the audience to buy into the story and not ask too many questions.  Why would everyone allow this man to terrorize them?  How can someone allow a person to stroll in and pluck their eyes out without a fight?  You need to accept that Coffin Joe is a scary almost supernatural figure and run with it.  This is where a lot of the surreal feel of the movie came in for me.  You don’t so much watch At Midnight I’ll Take your Soul as you do experience it.  If you are willing and able to do that then you will appreciate the movie, otherwise you this might not be the movie for you. 

Looking at the movie it is very clear that it was on a tight budget.  This makes what director Marins accomplished even more impressive to me.  Most of the movie was shot on a set, but you wouldn’t know that while watching the movie.  I would think that this allowed them more control over the look and feel of what they were shooting.  The lighting is really impressive and is used to create shadows that add to the atmosphere.  I also think that shooting the movie in black and white (not sure if color was even an option) works perfectly.  There aren’t a lot of effects in the movie but the bit with his eyes and the fingers getting lopped off were impressive. 

If you haven’t seen a Coffin Joe movie and are looking to check out something with a different sensibility then I recommend that you take the time to watch At Midnight I’ll Take your Soul.  It is creative and different kind of horror movie that I found to be a lot of fun. 

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2011 John Shatzer