Animals attack! in Colin Minihan’s horror-comedy Coyotes. The #1 fear of all small dog owners and late-night fog walkers in L.A. set their sights on a small Hollywood Hills neighborhood after a severe thunderstorm leaves the residents cut off from all emergency services. Left to fend for themselves, a family must fight for survival, with the help of their coke-fueled neighbor and a sex worker he’s hired, against wave after wave of bloodthirsty canines.
Justin Long (Barbarian) stars as Scott, an absent-minded graphic novelist whose work has slowly taken priority over his family. His wife Liv, played by Kate Bosworth (Before I Wake), and daughter, Chloe (Mila Harris, No Exit), have grown increasing frustrated playing second fiddle to his professional career, but there about to spend a whole bunch of quality time together. Of course, before they’re able to break out the board games and become a family again, their forced to fist fight mother nature after a pack of vicious coyotes comes knocking on their front door.
Part home-invasion, part creature-feature, Coyotes features a good handful of vicious bits and bites. It’s also got a great sense of humor, and not every laugh is coming from the inherently silly Justin Long. The movie has a good cast of characters, including an unstable exterminator played by Keir O’Donnell (Ambulance), a gun-totin’ ManChild played by Norbert Leo Butz (The Exorcist: Believer), and an in over her head escort played by frequent Minihan collaborator Brittany Allen (What Keeps You Alive).
Stylistically, the movie isn’t quite the bullseye it was hoping to hit. There are fleeting moments where the movie adopts a comic book aesthetic, but it doesn’t quite lean into the motif the way a Freaky Tales (2025) is able to justify. And from a pacing perspective, the movie is always just on the cusp of popping off, but never quite unleashes the mayhem I would have liked to see.
That said, there are some great moments of ravenous gore and a few really good belly laughs thanks to the movie’s own ability to poke fun and lampoon some the genre’s most overworked tropes. Let’s just say if there are scenes in movies that always make you roll your eyes, Coyotes hates those scenes too, and it’s got some pretty clever gags that are going to have you chuckling all the way to its explosive finish.
“Great moments of ravenous gore and a few really good belly laughs…”
Colin Minihan’s Coyotes celebrated its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest 2025 and hits theatres Oct 3 thanks to Aura Entertainment. Click HERE to follow our continued coverage of Fantastic Fest and be sure to let us know if you’re excited to see this new silly creature feature over in the Nightmare on Film Street Discord! Social Media is A Cesspool. Come Hang Where The Cool Creeps Are.
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