Tags:
Film: Coyotes
Year: 2025
Director: Colin Minihan
Writer: Tad Daggerhart and Nick Simon
Starring: Justin Long, Kate Bosworth and Mila Harris
Review:
This is a film that I didn’t know about until a request from Justin Cook came through about if I’d be interested in watching the screener for review. It was after that I saw promotional elements from the premiere. Realizing that it is from director Colin Minihan, featuring Justin Long, Kate Bosworth and Brittany Allen, I was intrigued even more. Other than knowing that it would be an animal attack film, I came in blind.
Synopsis: trapped in their Hollywood Hills home, a family fights for survival when caught between a raging wildfire and a pack of savage coyotes.
We start this by seeing Kat (Katherine McNamara) dressed up and taking her dog for a walk. She is on her phone. Something then tugs at the lease from the dark. She then flees in terror, not paying attention to where she is going. She is left hurt in the road, vulnerable to whatever is in the darkness.
It then shifts over to introduce us to our main family. The husband and father is Scott (Long). He’s married to Liv (Bosworth) and they have a daughter, Chloe (Mila Harris). Scott is meeting with Devon (Keir O’Donnell) who is an exterminator. The reason for the call is that they’re hearing noises in the walls. Devon thinks it is rats. Scott is leery about using poison to kill off the rodents, but he’s strong-armed into agreeing to Devon’s methods. He also points out he’s going to spray a pile of leftover construction materials, even though it belongs to the neighbor.
This neighbor is an odd man named Trip (Norbert Leo Butz). We see him invite over an escort, Julie (Allen). She accidentally shows up to the door of our family. We also see this duo are doing drugs and he carries a gun.
Now something to introduce here is that Scott is an aspiring comic book writer. He has a deadline looming. Liv is bothered that he’s there but not present. She asks him about trimming a tree because there is a strong storm coming in. The weather is ripe for wild fires as well. They run into issues when the heavy winds knock over the tree he was supposed to clean up. He also goes outside to see there are coyotes in the area. They seem to have a bad temperament.
Things come to a head when the tree is knocked over. The power goes out and due to debris in the roads, it will take time for the city to get out there to repair it. These coyotes are aggressive, attacking Scott’s friend and neighbor Tony (Kevin Glynn). His wife gets upset when he doesn’t come home, she is Shelia (Norma Nivia). This then becomes a night none of them will ever forget as it becomes a battle for survival as the synopsis says.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I’ll start is by saying that I’m a sucker for animal attack films when it is done correctly. When I settled on writing my review, I started to think about how this feels like Crawl, the only differences would be moving it out of Florida to California, subbing in coyotes for the alligators and instead of a hurricane, it is a wildfire. I’m not going to knock this down, but the parallels are there.
I appreciate the premise: a homeowner (Scott) unhandy with yardwork, mocked by Liv, facing survival challenges with his family. I love how news reports detail wildfire conditions, explaining their cause. The disaster forces characters to flee, only to be stalked by coyotes, reminiscent of shark films. My only critique is the slow pacing, which lessens the urgency of the fire threat.
What does work though are the animal attack sequences. I’m not sure if we have real animals subbing in or if everything there is CGI. I thought the animals looked good. There were only a few times when I could tell them to put the care in there. These go brutally. The blood looks real so I wanted to give credit for that. What makes this work is the carelessness. My guess, these people live where they do, they can leave their doors unlocked. Seeing the coyotes sneak into homes and attack is scary. That causes action that I appreciate.
Let’s then finish out with the rest of the filmmaking aspects. I’ll also credit the cinematography and the framing. That helps with the effects as well. We set up that these houses are outside of the city proper. There is countryside there. With the regularity of wildfires in this area from the news, which is already a built in concept. I’d also say that the sound design was good when we’re hearing the coyotes. That gives an eerie vibe. The music also fits what was needed in building the atmosphere.
All that is left then is the acting performances. We have a solid cast of performers. Long and Bosworth feel like a married couple. What I love are the little remarks they give to each other. Those remind me of what my wife and I would say. That realism adds to me caring about them. Harris is solid as their daughter. I feel bad for her with a reveal we see as this goes on. Allen is fun and plays well off Butz. Then the rest are rounded out by O’Donnell, Glynn, McNamara and Nivia. Everyone brings their characters to life which I appreciate.
In conclusion, this delivers an effective animal attack film, drawing parallels to Crawl but establishing its own terrifying scenario amidst a raging wildfire. While the pacing could be tighter, the brutal attack sequences, convincing special effects, and strong acting performances from Long, Bosworth and the supporting cast elevate the tension and ensure the audience invests in the family's fight for survival. Director Minihan successfully crafts an eerie atmosphere through cinematography, sound design, and music, making this a worthwhile watch for fans of the subgenre.
My Rating: 7 out of 10