The genre has lost another icon with the passing of Brazilian actor, writer, director, producer, José Mojica Marins, better known to fans as Zé do Caixão, aka Coffin Joe. He was another filmmaker breaking ground, making movies that were not the most welcomed in his own home, but he continued on, making the kind that he wanted to make. While he started making films as early as 1950, it wasn’t until 1964 with the release of À Meia Noite Levarei Sua Alma (At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul) that he found the role that would stay with him until he died, that of the devious Coffin Joe. Thankfully, a good number of his films have been made available though various companies, especially Something Weird Video.

Three years later, he brought Coffin Joe back again in Esta Noite Encarnarei no Teu Cadáver (This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse, 1967), continuing his search for the perfect woman to bare his child. The amazing thing is that the third film in this twisted trilogy, Encarnação do Demônio (Embodiment of Evil, 2008) came out over 40 years later, but looked and felt seamless when compared to the first two entries.

While he may not have made hundreds and hundreds of films in the horror genre, the ones that he did were powerful and made an impact that was felt all around the world, and is still felt today. As sad as this news is, scrolling through my Facebook feed yesterday and seeing all the posts about him put a smile on my face. Coffin Joe had no longer been some cult figure that only a few die-hard fans knew about, but had been lifted to a true horror icon.

Our thoughts go out to his fans, friends, and family is this difficult times. Live on, Zé do Caixão. We’ll see you on the other side.