Year: 1967
Runtime: 108 mins
Language: Portuguese
Shot in vivid Eastmancolor, the film follows the infamous Coffin Joe, a macabre undertaker who returns to the town to resume his obsessive search for the ideal woman. He launches an even more savage reign of terror, with his loyal, hunchbacked assistant lurking at his side, amplifying the grisly nightmare.
Warning: spoilers below!
Haven’t seen This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!
Read the complete plot breakdown of This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse (1967), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
Coffin Joe returns to his village after a hospital recovery from shock and blindness, still driven by a singular obsession: to find the “perfect” woman to sire a son of superior blood. Accompanied by his gaunt, hunchbacked servant, he abducts six beautiful women on his first night back and subjects them to a brutal series of trials designed to test who among them displays no fear. Among the captured, Marcia remains calm and defiant while the others scream in terror. Coffin Joe marks her as his chosen one and confines the other five in a pit beneath his bedroom, releasing venomous snakes to kill them. When Marcia resists his sexual advances, he frees her, claiming she will not report him to authorities.
Shortly after, the colonel’s daughter, Laura, arrives in the village and quickly draws Coffin Joe’s attention. He invites her to meet at midnight, and she quickly falls in love with him. The colonel and his other son try to keep Laura away, but their efforts fail. In a bid to sever the threat, the colonel offers Coffin Joe a large sum of money to leave Laura alone. Coffin Joe and his loyal servant capture the colonel’s emissary, and brutally kill him, later framing the colonel’s thug Truncador for the murder.
Coffin Joe’s grim world further darkens when he learns that one of the kidnapped women he killed with snakes was pregnant. Overcome with guilt, he experiences a nightmare in which he is dragged through a graveyard into Hell, witnessing its denizens suffer endlessly. The Devil appears to be a reflection of himself, which only hardens his belief that his actions are not wrong.
Back in town, Truncador escapes from jail and reunites with the colonel, who wishes Coffin Joe dead for seducing his daughter. He dispatches Truncador to assemble a new team of killers, and that very night they ambush Coffin Joe, though he manages to kill them all. Meanwhile, Marcia, haunted by the victims’ deaths, drinks arsenic and confesses Coffin Joe’s crimes to the doctor and the gathering townspeople. A lynch mob forms under the colonel’s order and closes in on Coffin Joe.
In a race against fate, Laura is ready to give birth, but a doctor’s assessment makes it clear that only one life can be saved. Coffin Joe and Laura decide that the baby should live, but the operation ends in tragedy for both of them. Coffin Joe carries Laura’s body to a mausoleum in the cemetery, where the villagers close in. He attempts to flee but is shot and falls into the pond where he once dumped his victims. In the final moment, a priest pleads with him to accept God so his soul can be saved. Coffin Joe concedes, accepting God as his savior, and drowns in the pond as skeletal figures rise to the surface.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:04
Don't stop at just watching — explore This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.
Track the full timeline of This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.
Discover the characters, locations, and core themes that shape This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse. Get insights into symbolic elements, setting significance, and deeper narrative meaning — ideal for thematic analysis and movie breakdowns.