Horror as a performance of death: José Mojica Marins and the tradition of the Grand Guignol

Abstract

This paper discusses aspects of the “Coffin Joe” trilogy directed by José Mojica Marins (At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, 1964; This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse, 1967; Embodiment of Evil, 2008), taking as its starting point the French tradition of the Theatre of the Grand Guignol (1897-1962). We also discuss how the graphic elements of horror were inserted and recycled in these films, according to paradigm shifts in the genre on the international scene since the 1960s.

Keywords

• Cinema brasileiro
• Cinema de horror
• Grand Guignol
• Torture porn
• José Mojica Marins