Coyote Cage, a new thriller produced by New Mexico independent film company Red Desert about the victimization and exploitation of migrants crossing the Southwestern border hit streaming platforms on Wednesday.
The film is based on a screenplay by The Paper.’s calendar editor Devin O’Leary, (Rotgut, I Heart U, Stiffed) who previously worked with Coyote Cage director Michael Perez on the 2014 neo-noir film Big Mistake, available through Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Google Play. Perez is an enthusiast of what he calls, “Film noir outside of the genre, like Blade Runner… This was more of my lean into the horror genre while also sticking to my roots in crime and thrillers.”
The film is fiction, and O’Leary’s genre-crossing screenplay is undeniably horrifying, but the horror literally hits close to home, especially for viewers in New Mexico and the Southwest. Classic horror films, according to O’Leary, “Touch on contemporary fears and concerns. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is about Communism. Godzilla is about nuclear war. The Exorcist is about rationality and science replacing religion. [Perez] wanted to make a movie centering on the hot button issue of immigration. By researching and listening to stories of migrants–as well as border patrol agents, militia members and actual human traffickers–I was able to fashion a fictional, genre-specific story about the real-life horrors many of these people face in trying to make a better life for themselves.”
Perez explains, “The cartel will kidnap migrants who are coming over and then exploit their families for money, torture them, [and] worse things than we depicted in our film… I think Devin portrayed that very well, and he brought such a human element to the entire story, which was very important, especially for such a dark tale.”
This is the first time working on a film in the U.S. and the first time speaking English in a film for Carlos Enriqie Almirante (Four Seasons in Havana, Fatima, Madrigal) who plays the film’s main villain. The performances from the film’s bad guys are some of the most enthralling and Perez praises them as, “Very charismatic in their presentation. [The actors] had a very peculiar way about playing their characters that stood out. It’s important to have identifiable characters even if you don’t agree with their reasoning behind their journey.”
Perez is very grateful for all of the performances from the film’s talented cast which also stars Michael McNulty, Aubrey Trujillo, Fernando Alvarez, Valentín Güereque and many other actors from New Mexico. Perez felt that having a predominantly Latino cast, “Not only brought authenticity to the story, but it showcased the incredible range of these bilingual actors.”
Almost every member of the crew was from Albuquerque, including Producer Jerry G. Angelo, who now resides in L.A.
Coyote Cage premiered last year at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque and is available to rent or purchase on Amazon Prime.