The movie unfolds in a small, unnamed town in Brazil where the local undertaker, Zé do Caixão, lives with a singular obsession: the continuity of his bloodline. Disregarding religion and emotional bonds, Zé's primary goal is to find the "perfect woman" who can bear him a superior child destined for immortality. However, tragedy strikes when it is revealed that his wife, Lenita, cannot bear children.
Driven by his relentless pursuit, Zé begins to pursue Terezinha, the fiancée of his friend Antonio. Terezinha, who values her relationship with Antonio above all, firmly tells Zé that she belongs to him and only him. During a Catholic holiday, Zé's frustration and discontent with Lenita’s infertility lead him to commit a dark and gruesome act: he ties her up and allows a venomous spider to bite her, causing her death. Despite this shocking crime, the local authorities struggle to find tangible evidence to imprison him, and Zé continues to roam free, seemingly untouchable.
Some days later, Antonio invites Zé to visit a local gypsy for a fortune-telling session that will supposedly reveal the future of his marriage with Terezinha. The gypsy warns of a coming tragedy and predicts that the union will never come to pass. Zé dismisses her as a fraud, mocking the supernatural, but she warns him, "Don’t mock what you don’t understand, or you will pay." That evening, the story unfolds precisely as foretold. Antonio confidently dismisses the gypsy’s prophecy, insisting he will marry Terezinha and enjoy a happy life, but Zé, in an act of violent fury, murders Antonio in his own home by bludgeoning, strangling, and drowning him in a bathtub.
Despite these heinous acts, Zé once again escapes any suspicion, as the police are unable to find evidence linking him directly to the murders. His depravity deepens when he targets Terezinha. He buys her a canary, and gradually, he begins to molest her, ultimately resorting to brutal violence when she resists his advances. Zé beats her severely and then rapes her. When Terezinha manages to speak, she curses him, vowing that she will take her own life and return to claim his soul in hell. Zé mocks her, but the very next day, she is found hanging in her home. Curiously, she leaves behind a suicide note that does not blame Zé for her death.
The town's Dr. Rodolfo begins to suspect Zé’s involvement in the recent wave of violent deaths, but Zé’s increasing brutality pushes him further into darkness. When the doctor starts to get close to uncovering the truth, Zé viciously attacks him by gouging his eyes with his nails and setting him ablaze.
As time passes, Zé remains unpunished for his crimes. His obsession persists as he encounters Marta, a young visitor from outside town, whom he considers his new perfect woman. On the Day of the Dead, Zé takes Marta home late at night, only to be warned by the gypsy who predicted Antonio and Terezinha’s doom that his own soul will be claimed by the ghosts of his victims and Satan himself at midnight. Zé, attempting to dismiss the warning, threatens her, but soon after, he is haunted by ghostly apparitions that threaten his sanity.
Fleeing from the terrifying spirits, Zé rushes to the mausoleum where Antonio and Terezinha are buried. Desperate to confirm their deaths, he opens their coffins, only to be met with scenes so gruesome that his mind begins to break. Instead of peaceful bodies, he witnesses their eyes wide open, faces crawling with maggots and spiders, a grotesque reflection of his own evil.
The climax occurs as the villagers, hearing his screams, arrive to find Zé lying disfigured and terrified, with his eyes bulging and his mind shattered. The bells of the church toll midnight just as this horrifying scene unfolds, marking the end of Zé’s twisted journey into darkness.
This tale presents a stark exploration of madness, obsession, and the supernatural, emphasizing how Zé do Caixão’s relentless pursuit of immortality ultimately leads him to a ghastly and inevitable end.
