Interview with Coyotes Director Colin Minihan

Ahead of the UK premiere of 'Coyotes' at FrightFest Halloween, director Colin Minihan reflects on going for the jugular, the LA wildfires and the joy of working outside the Hollywood system.

The film mixes horror, comedy, and environmental tension. How challenging was it to weave them into a genre film?

CM: Honestly, I didn’t think it was a huge departure from 'Grave Encounters', which plays big laughs before stripping away into serious horror, or 'It Stains the Sands Red', which wears its black comedy proudly until it morphs into a survival thriller. 'Coyotes' felt similar, just pushed further. I’m not afraid to land a hard comedic beat and then dive into something more grounded or emotional. It’s easy to stick to one drab tone for 90 minutes and call it art. What’s harder — and bolder — is to swing big. I want the audience to feel everything. Laugh, wince, get misty-eyed, scream… maybe all in the same 20 minutes.

What was the moment or idea that first sparked 'Coyotes' for you?

CM: I laughed out loud a lot reading the first draft, which is rare. And I’ve always wondered why no one had made a horror film with coyotes in L.A. They’re everywhere. People won’t even walk their dogs at night. They're a real threat.

That said, I love coyotes. Depicting them as wild, violent killers lived in my imagination — but this isn’t 'Jaws' – I’m not trying to convince you to stay out of the ocean.  This is a horror comedy that is blatantly cheeky. I always saw the film as hyper-real – an extension of Scott’s comics. That’s why I use split screens and insane stylistic choices throughout. This movie is just a wild ride.  

Once I got the chance to open up the script and pitch a new ending that allowed the family theme to land harder and give purpose to the coyotes motivations, it started to feel like a chance to go bolder and messier, blending overt comedy with familial horror. I'd also just been through the studio development meat grinder for years on a bunch of films that never got made, and I was desperate to get back behind the camera. This movie reignited my love for making films, and I’m so glad I got to do it with such a killer mix of talent in front of and behind the camera. Plus… movie number 4 with Brittany Allen. I broke the curse!!!  Now we’re onto 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

You cast real-life couple Justin Long and Kate Bosworth in lead roles. How did that dynamic inform your directing? Did their chemistry change anything on set?

CM: Justin was the first actor that came to mind after reading the script. I was lucky Kate read it for him — she has killer cinematic instincts. I think she immediately saw how well he fit the role. They both watched 'What Keeps You Alive', and we met up in Altadena (right before it burned down) to talk about it. Once they were in, I knew I needed Brittany to play Jules. That character reminded me of Molly from 'It Stains the Sands Red,' who I've been trying to resurrect in some form for years. Jules is nuts on the surface — but like Molly, once you peel back those layers, there's real pain underneath. She's not just comic relief; she gives the third act emotional texture that sneaks up on you.

Horror-comedy is a delicate balancing act. Were there moments where you had to lean one way or the other?

CM: The premise is so absurd that the comedy is baked in. Real-life coyotes have killed, what, two people? So, I went for the jugular – but in a ridiculous, fun way.

That said, I wanted real suspense in places of course. You play a scene straight in an insane scenario, and that’s often the funniest approach. I never wanted the comedy to feel forced, even if we were leaning into camp with some of the side characters. Everyone outside the core family I wanted to be completely off their rocker — because honestly, that’s what people in Hollywood are like. I lived under the Hollywood sign for five years... I know crazy well.  

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You used Sony Venice cameras with Cooke lenses, and sometimes FX3/FX6. What were you aiming for visually?

CM: I didn’t want to shoot anamorphic — I don’t think it works well for comedy. It’s too self serious. Sony was the right call for us in Colombia, and the Venice colour science cuts really well with the FX3, which I could whip out in tight spaces. My DP, Bradley Stuckel, had shot 'Still/Born' and 'Spiral', which I produced but didn’t direct, so we’d been looking to team up. We aimed for a classic, vintage lighting style. This is a throwback to family-horror films — the opposite of the cold, “cool guy” horror people love to praise right now. We avoided LED lighting as much as possible and went big with HMIs on condors, especially for our exterior night scenes. It gave us a really classic look. In post, we pushed contrast hard — something that’s almost taboo these days. Everything now feels washed out. That’s not cinema to me.

Wildfires hit L.A. just after you wrapped. Did that affect the film?

CM: Yeah — it definitely gave the ending more weight for me. That theme of rebuilding and family really hit home. I took my old soviet era k3 Super 16 camera and shot the aftermath of the Eaton Canyon fire in Altadena — just five minutes from my house. I worked that footage tastefully into the credit sequence. I built the opening credit sequence actually as a labour of love and an homage to the city of LA and coyotes. I think it really captures something special and Britt’s pounding anthemic theme plays huge over it. 

How did you approach designing / depicting the coyotes in terms of effects and VFX?

CM: We built three custom puppets — super detailed. No digital cleanup on those shots either. It’s all in how you shoot them: chaotic, backlit, shallow depth — just enough to sell the realism. Completely practical. Every cast member got their asses kicked by those puppets. We also had an animatronic for close-quarters stuff: fighting, dying, that slow breathing movement. Shooting it a little off-speed helped smooth the articulation.

Then came the VFX — over 400 shots. We had to comp in digital coyotes – full CGI pipeline – model, groom, rig, animation, lighting, fire, explosions, Hollywood backdrops (since we were actually in Bogotá). Unfortunately, there wasn’t an option to use real coyotes in Bogota — too expensive to ship and also coyotes are too sensitive for what I needed them to actually do. Trainers said they’d likely freeze under lights, and you’d never get aggressive performance without damaging trust – basically being cruel – which obviously I wasn’t willing to do or push to do. 

You also edited the film. Were there any surprises in the edit?

CM: I’ve edited every film I’ve made. It’s part of how I direct. This one was tricky because of how much improvisation we allowed. Justin is insanely sharp — he is the best improviser and lived in actor I’ve ever worked with. We would just play and adjust on the fly and respond to the moment.  My job was to recognize the good in those moments and make sure we had coverage to support it. 

The real challenge was keeping the flow and pace moving because it’s a strange script in the sense that the protagonist doesn’t truly know they’re in a horror film so to speak until about page 45. The horror is happening to the side characters and building up slowly.  Typically I’d have a protagonist be driving plot more after page 25 or so – but that wasn’t really an option here as another day begins post storm and things kind of rebuild. It was a cool opportunity to establish the neighbourhood more and build towards the inevitable.  

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What was your proudest creative risk that paid off?

CM: Honestly? The entire tone. And technically – 21 days, crazy scope, it feels like a way bigger film. The laughs land. The scares (mostly) hit. And when it wants to be emotional, i think it earns it but then cleverly diffuses it from being too sentimental.

Finally, what’s next?

CM: We’ll see. I’ve written some really edgy scripts I’d love to make, but they scare the money people. So maybe I’ll just make a weird liminal horror movie for fun and sell it to one of these “high art” distributors who love pretending they discover high art. Or maybe I’ll self-release. I cut the trailer to 'Coyotes' because the distributor did such a lousy job. So maybe I should just be the distributor too on next go around. I’m pretty jaded by the business at this point! But I love the act of making films with friends and playing between action and cut. That’s what I care about. The rest is all just noise and annoyance. 

'Coyotes' will receive its UK Premiere ar FrightFest Halloween '25 on November 1st.