Inside 'Halloween Inferno': A Chat with Coleman Films

On Wednesday, I took a look at Halloween Inferno: The Boogeyman Cut. Its a solid sequel to Halloween '18. It also does a great job of expanding upon the world of the film. 

I had the opportunity of chatting with Coleman Films about the fan film.

What was your introduction to Horror?

Believe it or not, my earliest memories of horror are Michael Myers. Something about the

look and tone of the original film really affected us when we were kids. The iconic score mixed with the imagery of the character was something so powerful, it stuck immediately.

How did Coleman Films begin?

ColemanFilms began with James and Vince Coleman, Alessandro and Stefano Korlou at 10 and 11 years old. 

As kids James and Vince had an obsession with Michael Myers,

we had the mask and our friends had the camera, so we thought hey let’s make a movie!

It is funny looking back on it , but our first film ever was a Halloween film. Halloween Inferno is almost like a promise we made to ourselves as kids that one day we would make something so awesome people would have to take notice.

Where did the inspiration for Halloween Inferno come from?

The inspiration really came from a love of the character, and what we thought the franchise could be capable of, had it been given the proper care. 

The remake came out when we were young and it was a far cry from what true fans wanted. Our dream was to one day be at the helm of a studio funded Halloween film. 

After 2018 was released, we

thought, “What are we waiting for, lets just do it ourselves”.

This was originally released in three sections. What led to that decision?

To put it simply. We did not know what kind of reception it would get, or if anyone would care at all. 

We did the first part as a fun project to get our old gang of friends together.

After it was released we started getting bombarded with messages and requests for more. A few fans generously donated to help us fund part 2. We attempted to crowd fund

for part 3 but were not as successful as we hoped to be. 

Luckily both James and Vince are thick headed and we pushed onward and made part 3 with what we did raise, we just had to rework some things in the script in order to fit the budget.

The Michael Myers mask at the beginning on Inferno, how did that come about?

We actually took the 2018 mask to our good friend and special fx artist Michael Del Rossa and gave him a basic idea of what we thought it would look like. He began tearing out

hair and painting the mask, along with several other techniques until we had what you see in the film. 

This was far before any imagery or discussion of what Halloween Kills

was planning to do . I think it is cool we got pretty close to their design.

Later on Michael finds the classic mask, what led to the decision to include it?

We thought in the Halloween universe, the Michael Myers mask existed, as we see Myers stole the mask from a store in the original film. Maybe that is a frankenstein type icon in that universe, so it would not be too crazy to think that a trick or treater would have it. 

We wanted to incorporate a steadicam kill and we thought an interesting driving force for him to follow the couple would be spotting that classic mask. Plus, nothing

beats the original mask and we have not seen Michael in it for 40 years.

Inferno expands the world established in Halloween '18. Both in terms of the scope as well as the characters themselves. How did the decision come about to introduce these new characters? 

We decided to incorporate new characters for a few reasons. One being we do not have Jamie Lee Curtis and replacing her might come off as comical. That being said, I feel that Michael represents evil and evil can affect anyone. The element that really interested me was the aftermath. 

Introducing Lily and immediately hearing her father was killed is a strong way to bring her into Michael’s world. We wanted to make this film character driven. We wanted people to see Barker accept his negligence and become a hero in the end. 

We wanted to see the devastation that Michael Myers caused on more than just Laurie strode.

How has the response been to Inferno?

The response has been amazing, being an artist is filled with a lot of pain and heart break. 

Chasing a dream, no matter what it is never easy. To hear fans tell me I inspired them or that they loved my work is an incredible feeling. And I could not be more thankful to the people who have supported me.

Is there an interest to return for a Part 4? Or a sequel to Inferno?

Is there an interest for a part 4? I will see this…. you can’t kill the boogeyman.

What's next for Coleman Films?

We are about 85 percent done with an original feature film. Keep a look out for that. It takes all the things you loved from Inferno and incorporates them into something completely new and unique.

Check Out Halloween Inferno The Boogeyman Cut on YouTube.

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Road to Halloween Kills: Halloween Inferno - The Boogeyman Cut

Welcome back to Road to Halloween Kills! When we last left off, we had revisited Halloween (1978) and Halloween (2018). 

When Halloween (2018) ended, we were faced with a whole new world. I mean Laurie and her family got away from Michael. They proved he was just a man. And they were able to lock him in the basement of the house while it was burning. 

That was a great way to end the story. Absolutely iconic. And trying to figure out how Michael could have survived. It would be such a wait for Halloween Kills due to COVID. But the hype and excitement was there. Everyone was waiting to hear what could happen next. 

I found a great way to tide us over till October when Kills is finally unleashed upon the world. Over at Coleman Films, they took the time to give us a good idea of what could happen next. 

This was in the form of a fan film called Halloween Inferno. When this was released, it was released in three parts. Eventually it was pieced together in it's entirety under The Boogeyman Cut. 

I remember catching the first part when it was released. At the end of it, I was sold on seeing how this would turn out.  I am happy to say that it delivers a solid take on continuing the story from Halloween '18. 

One of the best thing that this film does is that it expands the world that was established in the Halloween '18. 

Here, we are given more time with the Sheriff Barker (Issac Thompson Jr.). At first, he's just trying to look the other way. He almost doesn't want to admit that Michael has returned. But slowly as events begin to become more tense, he realizes truly what has come to Haddonfield. Thompson Jr.'s performance is great. We are also introduced to the daughter of Will Patton's character from Halloween '18. This was a welcome addition. It also adds another layer to Will Patton's character by helping flesh out this world. It also illustrates how much of a force Michael is and anyone can get caught up in it.

Now, I don't want to dive too much into spoiler territory with this one. Yeah, it's been out for a little bit now. But it's fun going in blind. 

The kills that happen in this film, they showed more of the Michael we loved in Halloween '18. The more brutal. The more visceral. When Michael strikes, it's quick and precise. 

It's interesting that they show the burnt mask from the ending of Halloween '18. This was released a bit before anything from Halloween Kills released, as far as I know. So, the cool thing is seeing how close they got it. Yes, we end up getting the classic mask. However, to me, Michael was at his strongest with the burnt mask. It's the striking imagery that helped. Plus, it helped add something distinct to the character. Not that I am going to knock the classic mask. It just felt a little off seeing a version of the classic back in a more cleaned up look. I am probably just being a little nitpicky.

Overall, Halloween Inferno works. It works as a solid story that gave us an idea of where things could go next. The Boogeyman Cut is the definitive way to experience this as well. It takes all three parts of the film and edits them into one cohesive beast. If you get the chance, I recommend it. It's great and is a nice way to spend some time till we finally see Halloween Kills.

Halloween Inferno can be found on YouTube.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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