FILM REVIEW: Coyotes (2025)

Coyotes - New Release Review

Director: Colin Minihan

Starring: Kate Bosworth, Justin Long, Mila Harris, Brittany Allen, Norbert Leo Butz

Written by: Tad Daggerhart, Nick Simon

Produced by: Ford Corbett, James Harris, Joshua Harris, Nathan Klingher, Jib Polhemus

Cinematography by: Bradley Stuckel

Original Score by: Brittany Allen

Synopsis:

Trapped in their Hollywood Hills home, a family fights for survival when caught between a raging wildfire and a pack of savage coyotes.

Thoughts:

Justin Long in a horror film is always a good time right? Colin Minihan's latest is a whimscial look at how the other side live. Or rather how they behave in the midst of a life threatening attack by a pack of wild coyotes. It's not particularly scary or funny. It's just kinda weird.

Long stars as Scott, a work obsessed father who has to step up and protect his family during a nightmare evening in the Hollywood Hills when adverse weather cuts the power and a wildfire closes in. However the main danger comes from some snarling, hungry coyotes who have zoned in on this particular stretch of neigbourhood due to a lack of natural habitat.

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Kate Bosworth stars as Scott's wife Liv with Mila Harris filling out the family dynamic as their daughter Chloe. The performances are all good. Long and Bosworth have an obvious chemistry with the former providing some humourous facial expressions and Justin Long-isms. He's just alot of fun to watch. The rest of the cast of oddball characters are all pretty good too, even though they are paper thin.

Director Minihan tries to give the film some personality from the outset. The opening credits are very stylistic which I quite enjoyed but I wasn't really a fan of the comic book filters everytime a character was introduced. Why like?

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There's a little bit of tension created early on when the coyotes begin to move in closer to the house but it felt like the film was trying to get to the end as soon as possible. Very little time was spent on creating any sort of tense atmosphere that might elicit legitmate fear. Coyotes might not be as epic as werwolves but at least make an effort to give them some sort of screen presence. And I wasn't entirely sure how much of the coyotes was CGI. It just didn't feel or look right when they made an appearance. I honestly would have rather not seeing them for most of the film. Speaking of CGI, even some of the backgrounds didn't look real.

There are some funny moments but I think the film struggles to hit the right tone or even decide what it wants to be. The family drama rears its ugly head every so often but not enough to become fully invested in it. It feels like it should play out a bit like Mike Dougherty's fantastic 2015 Christmas comedy horror 'Krampus' but it doesn't get close to that. The characters of Trip and Julie do provide some entertainment but everything else felt lacklustre.

'Coyotes' promised a lot and delivered very little. If you like Justin Long being Justin Long then definitely give it a go but with a lack of scares or memorable kills the film sadly just falls flat by the time the end credits roll.

Verdict: ⭐️⭐️½

-Gavin Logan

'Coyotes' is released in US cinemas on October 3rd