I’m honestly surprised we haven’t seen a movie like Coyotes before. In a world where mankind’s expansion into natural territory, the idea of coyotes striking back against humans is something that would be interesting to explore. Thankfully, we have Coyotes from director Colin Minihan and writers Tad Daggerhart and Nick Simon. The film follows Scott (played by Justin Long), Liv (Kate Bosworth), and their daughter Chloe (played by Mila Harris). They live in the foothills of Hollywood among the rest of the rich yuppies up there. They end up trapped in their home after a massive windstorm knocks out the power and takes out their car. With emergency services across LA stretched thin, they have to face the onslaught of vicious coyotes by themselves, and with some help from the neighbors.

Coyotes isn’t a straight-up horror film; instead, it gets a lot of its levity and a decrease in tension from humor. That release valve is perfect for Justin Long, because he and the rest of the cast can stretch their comedic muscles, but there can also be some pretty gnarly gore from the coyote attacks. Without further ado, let’s dive into the good, the bad, and the ugly of Coyotes.

The Good Of Coyotes

The whole appeal of Coyotes is the animal attack genre and humor. Justin Long and Kate Bosworth do a fantastic job with their natural chemistry (they’re married in real life) and the material given to them. The neighbors around them are even more fascinating with performances from Brittany Allen as Julie (Trip’s hired sex worker), Keir O’Donnell as a creepy exterminator, Norbert Leo Butz as Trip, and Kevin Glynn as Tony. The neighbors are really what give the film all of its comedic moments.

It makes the film easy to buy Scott and Liv as a couple, and Long gets to stretch some heroic tendencies when everyone is put in peril.

The gore and coyote attacks are all pretty thrilling and Colin Minihan definitely knows how to make these attacks look as gnarly as possible. The gore and blood are top-notch and sure to thrill any fan of the genre. For an animal attack movie, it also works pretty well, setting the characters up for some pretty intense peril. The performances are likable and the comedy just works.

It all builds to a third act where you’re expecting one thing to happen, and it really takes it to a completely different direction. I enjoyed that aspect of it. Coyotes isn’t predictable, which was very nice to see.

The Bad And Ugly Of Coyotes

So the ugly thing about Coyotes is the coyotes themselves. They don’t look real in the slightest and they stick out from the backgrounds. It doesn’t feel like they’re sharing the same spaces as the actors on screen. That ends up making them feel less threatening and more wooden than anything. I really hope that the monsters weren’t created with AI but they don’t look like they’re living, breathing creatures.

If you can get past the actual coyotes looking ugly, there’s a lot to like about Coyotes. The performances and comedy land with Justin Long and Kate Bosworth as the best of the bunch. A smaller suburban animal attack movie is a rare thing these days, so check out Coyotes in theaters on October 3rd if that’s something that interests you.

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