Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Hellish Flesh Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 17, 2024

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the Inside the Mind of Coffin Joe collection from Arrow Video.

If you know about Coffin Joe, no introduction is necessary, and if you don't, no introduction could probably ever suffice. That said, for those who aren't aware of this weirdly iconic Brasilian character, he (it?) sprang from the febrile imagination of one José Mojica Marins, a writer and director who in addition to those tasks in fact played Coffin Joe in several films aggregated in this gonzo new collection from Arrow Video. Rather interestingly, and perhaps saliently, one supplement in this immense set has the redoubtable Stephen Thrower refusing to call Marins "insane", despite the fact that other pundits have described Marins as meeting that clinical definition, while another supplement is devoted to Marins as a "neuro divergent" and at least possibly ADHD afflicted filmmaker. That rather wide gamut of reactions will probably be matched by the general public, though if Marins was "crazy", he was crazy like a fox, as they say, and his films, while intentionally provocative and rather frequently horrifyingly graphic in terms of bodily immolations and the like, generally have rather impressive production values, which suggests a certain competency at least. One way or the other, virtually all of Marins' films are suffused with mood, even if narrative structures can be on the wobbly side. This is another impressive effort from Arrow Video that is obviously designed to cater to a cult audience, but that particular demographic should find themselves very well served by this release.

In several ways Hellish Flesh is the outlier in Arrow's Coffin Joe collection, probably due largely to the fact that it's the least Coffin Joe-ish film in the set. While I recommended that The End of Man might be one of the better places to start in this set for those previously unaware of Marins' completely odd filmography, that's because that film has a kind of winking sense of humor accompanying its non-Coffin Joe approach. This film is as dark as many of the Coffin Joe enterprises, and has at least a subtext involving some of the philosophical ruminations (rants?) Coffin Joe engages in, all within what is at its core a "standard" horror outing that may remind some of some aspects informing The Phantom of the Opera and/or The Abominable Dr. Phibes.

Marins is on hand (hand including long fingernails, it should be noted) as Dr. George Medeiros, a devoted scientist so devoted he doesn't seem to notice his beautiful wife Raquel (Luely Figueiró) is sick of being ignored and begins a lusty affair with George's best friend Oliver (Oswaldo De Souza). The two lovers decide things would be much easier without that pesky George tooling around in the basement underneath their lovemaking, but let's just say their plot to murder him is not exactly at Diabolique levels of ingenuity, resulting in George surviving, albeit horribly disfigured.

Unsurprisingly, George is hell bent on revenge, and that's the bulk of the remainder of the story, which while ostensibly more "normal" than your average Marins film, still has completely off the wall presentational flourishes and Marins' tendency toward hyperbolic performances.

Hellish Flesh Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hellish Flesh is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Arrow's insert booklet offers some general information about all of the transfers, followed by more individualized information about this particular film, as follows:

The Coffin Joe films by José Mojica Marins have been exclusively restored by Cinecolor, in cooperation with One Eyed Films and Arrow Films. All restoration work was overseen by producer Paulo Sacramento in collaboration with Arrow Films.

The original film elements sourced for this project represent the best existing film elements available, and while every effort has been made to present these films in the highest quality possible, some instances of damage remain, in keeping with the condition and age of these materials. Likewise, the audio soundtracks which at times have a slightly rough quality of are in keeping with their production origins. In places audio synch will appear loose as very little audio was ever recorded live and the mixes were generally recorded and created in post-production.

Hellish Flesh / Inferno Carnal is presented in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio with mono Brazilian Portuguese audio.

The film was scanned and restored in 4K resolution from the original 35mm camera negative.

The audio was remastered from an original 35mm print.

Additionally, a prefatory text card offers the following further information:

2022 4K restoration executed at Cinecolor Brazil Lab with the support of Arrow Films and under the supervision of Mojica's last producer, Paulo Sacramento.

Digital restoration done from the original 35mm image negatives supplied by Cinemateca Brasileira.

The audio files were restored from the preexisting telecine of a 35mm print.

As with the other transfers in this set culled from negatives, this is a really great looking presentation, though once again there's just a hint of a skew toward yellow-orange undertones, which may be discernable in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review. That one minor qualm aside, the palette is beautifully suffused and quite evocative, and detail levels are typically excellent throughout. There are some rather dimly lit or just flat out dark scenes where shadow definition isn't optimal, but the brightly lit material pops extremely well and supports commendable fine detail levels. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

Hellish Flesh Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hellish Flesh features LPCM Mono audio in the original Portuguese. I'm rating this slightly higher than many of the other tracks in this set, but there is still some slight distortion and/or crackling that can be discerned at higher amplitudes, though there's noticeably less of the almost painful high end brightness that afflicts some of the other tracks in the collection. There's very little background hiss or noise, or consistent damage, and as a result dialogue, along with the typically wacky array of effects and source cues Marins uses, all resonate with good fidelity. Optional English subtitles are available.

Hellish Flesh Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Arrow has packaged Hellish Flesh and Hallucinations of a Deranged Mind together on one disc, with the following supplements:

• Aesthetics of Garbage: José Mojica Marins, a Complicated Icon (HD; 30:56) is an interview with Andrew Leavold, who gives an overview in the genre context of Boca do Lixo (Mouth of Garbage), the ultra low budget movement in Brasil that Marins was ostensibly a part of.


• Beyond Good and Evil (HD; 15:31) is an interesting video essay by Kat Ellinger which concentrates on the connections between Marins' films and Friedrich Nietzsche.


• Trailers

  Hellish Flesh (HD; 3:53)

  
  

  Hallucinations of a Deranged Mind (HD; 3:49)

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• Audio Commentary for Hallucinations of a Deranged Mind doesn't come with the same explanatory introductory menu text as on the other discs with commentaries, but features Paulo Darte, Carlos Primati, Nilcemar Leyarte and José Mojica Marins. Subtitled in English. This is accessible under Special Features once the film has been chosen.

Hellish Flesh Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you're a fan of Coffin Joe, this film should probably come toward the end of your binge viewing, however interesting it may be. If, however, you're a newcomer to Marins and his extremely odd filmography, both this film and The End of Man might be suitable introductory pieces. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements very enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.