In 1963, Alfred Hitchcock terrified audiences with The Birds, a horror film about birds attacking humans. A little over a decade later, Steven Spielberg made people afraid to go in the water with the movie Jaws (1975), which stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody who is tasked with protecting his small beach town from a man-eating great white shark. Since then, there have been countless movies about animals gone wild, whether it’s due to the weather, nuclear waste, or simply the result of man’s destruction of the planet. Recent feature Cocaine Bear (2023) even centers around a bear that goes on a killing rampage after ingesting a large amount of cocaine. Filmmaker Colin Minihan’s (Grave Encounters; It Stains the Sands Red) new horror comedy Coyotes explores what happens when wildfires drive bloodthirsty coyotes into Los Angeles to wreak havoc on a community.
For a spoiler-free exploration of Coyotes, head to EoM Founder Douglas Davidson’s initial Fantastic Fest 2025 review.
Justin Long as Scott in COYOTES. Photo courtesy of AURA Entertainment.
Written by Tad Daggerhart (Expendables 4), Daniel Meersand (The Pyramid), and Nick Simon (The Pyramid), and directed by Minihan, Coyotes stars real-life husband and wife Justin Long (Tusk; Barbarian) and Kate Bosworth (Before I Wake; The Domestics) as Scott and Liv who are forced to protect each other and their daughter Chloe (Mila Harris) when their home is invaded by coyotes. This is not Long and Bosworth’s first horror movie together. They starred in the reimagining of Dracula, House of Darkness in 2022 and Bosworth has a voice cameo in Barbarian (2022). And they’re not the only real-life couple involved with Coyotes. Director Colin Minihan is married to Brittany Allen, who stars in and composed original music for the film. Allen starred in Minihan’s films Extraterrestrial (2014), It Stains the Sands Red (2016), and What Keeps You Alive (2018), for which she also composed the score.
Scott (Long) is a comic book illustrator, who lives in the Hollywood Hills with his wife, Liv (Bosworth), their teenage daughter, Chloe (Harris), and their little dog, Charlie. Each character in Coyotes is introduced with a comic book panel, their name in graphic text along with a drawing of the character, which, combined with some over-the-top performances, adds to the playful atmosphere of the movie. Scott calls exterminator Devon, played like Rambo by Keir O’Donnell (Ambulance), to come treat the house for rats because he’s been hearing scratching sounds in the walls. That night, a severe storm knocks down trees and the power goes out. The next morning, Scott and Liv find a collar in their yard, which they think might belong to the neighbor’s cat. Liv takes the collar next door to ask their neighbor Trip, in an entertaining performance by Norbert Leo Butz (The Exorcist: Believer), if the collar belongs to him. Dressed in a flowery kimono, Trip has hired a “lady of the night,” played hilariously by Brittany Allen (What Keeps You Alive), and the two of them have been partying all night.
As hungry coyotes methodically circle each house, and sometimes even open doors to get inside and attack each homeowner, Scott realizes they might be driven by something else other than the desire to escape the wildfires or the search for food. When he hears the same scratching in the walls that led him to call the exterminator, as well as high-pitched sounds, he discovers coyote puppies trapped within the walls of his house. With the residents of the neighborhood who are still alive, Scott and his family come up with a plan to try and return the baby coyotes to the pack, hoping they will leave.
Coyotes has no shortage of blood and gore and there are some brutal kills, which appear to be a combination of practical effects and CGI. As far as the creature effects, the use of animatronics helps, but, whether CGI or AI is to blame, the inconsistent look of the coyotes makes them look more cartoonish than scary which doesn’t work in the film’s favor.
There are some pleasantly humorous performances in Coyotes. Long’s dry line delivery is very effective during the funny moments, and Allen is a riot to watch. A conversation between Scott and Julie about the movie The Birds is comedy at its finest. Julie might not be the smartest person in the room, but she is the only one who manages to charge her phone, which is helpful when you need to call for help because you’re being attacked by wild animals. Allen’s exciting score is one of the highlights of the film, adding intensity when needed and to the camp of it all at other times.
Mila Harris as Chloe in COYOTES. Photo courtesy of AURA Entertainment.
The audio and video quality on the Blu-ray release of Coyotes are great, allowing you to immerse yourself in this popcorn movie, pesky uneven coyote effects aside.
The only bonus feature included on the Blu-ray is a behind-the-scenes documentary called Meet the Pack: Behind-the-Scenes with the Makers which includes interviews with director Colin Minihan, as well as stars Justin Long, Kate Bosworth, and Norbert Leo Butz.
Coyotes Special Features:
- Meet the Pack: Behind-the-Scenes with the Makers
Available on VOD and digital October 21st, 2025.
Available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD November 25th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official DECAL Releasing Coyotes webpage.
Final Score: 3 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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