Coffin Joe's Lost Film Recovered And Restored! First Images From A PRAGA!

Many, many thanks to Fernando from the upcoming RIOFAN festival for not only bringing news of a lost film by Coffin Joe but for also passing along details and the first images! Here's Fernando with the news ...

Coffin Joe is back in business! After more than 10 years absent from screens, horror legend José Mojica Marins is in for a big comeback. Not only will his much-awaited A Encarnação do Demônio (Embodiment of Evil) hit Brazilian screens on July 25th, Mojica also has plans to release another feature this year.

Written by longtime collaborator Rubens F. Luchetti, A Praga (The Plague) tells the story of a young couple that goes out in a small trip and inadvertently takes some pictures of a strange old lady (played by the late Wanda Kosmo) who turns out to be a sinister witch. Doing what witches are expected to do, she places a terrible curse upon them.

A Praga was almost entirely shot in super-8 back in 1980, but the footage was shelved due to lack of resources to finish it. During the preparations of a major retrospective of his work that took place in São Paulo and Brasilia in 2007 – for which brand new 35mm prints of no less than 25 films were made –, Mojica and producer Eugenio Puppo jumped at the opportunity to finish the project. Puppo put together the raw material, shot additional scenes, edited and supervised all the post production process, and the result was shown to those lucky enough to attend the retrospective. Puppo and Mojica are now looking for means to transfer the film to 35mm. A Praga is expected to travel around international festivals and there are plans of a commercial release in Brazil.

In May, Mojica will receive an award for his career and present a preview of Embodiment of Evil in the first Rio Fantastic Film Festival - RIOFAN. The official trailer is in its way to hit screens pretty soon.