Coyotes

There’s a long tradition in horror (and in pulp TV documentaries) of films positing what might happen if ordinarily benign animals suddenly became aggressive towards humans. Usually – as in The Birds or The Killer Goldfish – these are not particularly dangerous animals which succeed in doing harm only because they have help. Coyotes are a little different. They’re shy of humans but they’re large powerful beasts. Even one could do serious damage – and, well, you read the title, right?

In case you were in any doubt, the opening vignette sees a young influencer’s stroll through a quiet suburban neighbourhood go badly awry. Posing for selfies in her shocking pink foil dress, she seems barely aware of the concern of her guinea pig-sized dog, Gigi, who knows that something is wrong. The incident that follows soon disappears into a torrent of local radio stories about wildfires pushing desperate coyotes into Los Angeles neighbourhoods. There’s mention of a boy being pulled off his bike. Local guy Scott (Justin Long), however, doesn’t pay attention, because he has a more immediate problem. Listen to the scratching sounds that become apparent when he presses his ear against the plaster, the exterminator, Devon (Keir O’Donnell) agrees: there are rats in the walls. They must be wiped out, he insists, to send a message to all the other rats in the area.

Scott’s wife Liv (played by Long’s real life wife, Kate Bosworth) and daughter Chloe (Mila Harris) ascribe the rat problem to messy neighbour Trip (Norbert Leo Butz), who likes to party. We are also introduced to Tony (Kevin Glynn), an Irish neighbour who spends the bulk of his time drinking, giving DIY advice or making excuses; and Tony’s wife Sheila, who is Liv’s friend. Finally, there’s call girl Julie (Brittany Allen), who initially turns up at Scott’s house by mistake and ends up bonding with the family over the course of a long night when storm damage, approaching wildfires and out of character coyotes plunge the neighbourhood into crisis.

The sound of large numbers of coyotes howling together is genuinely unsettling. The animals’ aggression, when it comes, is considerably more serious that one usually sees in comedies, which this is trying hard to be. The sense that the characters have accidentally wandered into the wrong film is exacerbated by the fact that we see very little direct interaction. There are exchanges of threats, there’s some hiding and sneaking around which doesn’t quite make sense with animals which have a keen sense of smell, and there are some carefully placed gore shots, but the animals are rarely on camera at the same time as their ostensible prey.

The characters might work well individually, but they feel mismatched, with Devon and Trip’s eccentricities not quite working in the same film. Allen hold her own, bring some spirit to proceedings, and young Harris is not bad. Scott’s Aliens-inspired solution, towards the end, has a certain charm to it and could be a lot of fun, but it’s let down by the uneven tone of the film and the fact that usually reliable director Colin Minihan doesn’t really seem to know what to do with it.

Of course, there are any number of slapdash animal attack films out there, and Coyotes has no trouble outclassing most of the genre, but it doesn’t really have the quality one hopes for a Fantastic Fest, especially in what has been a strong year. It lacks confidence and decisiveness, ultimately fizzling out rather than providing a properly thrilling ending. It certainly has its moments and will entertain dedicated fans of this sort of thing, but alas, it falls short of its potential.

Reviewed on: 29 Sep 2025