The latest from director Colin Minihan (Grave Encounters, What Keeps You Alive) is the brisk, sometimes truly scary Coyotes, which finds ways to be funny and gross, as well as a pointed commentary about Californians, and even a timely statement about the unforeseen dangers of the California wildfires. Real-life couple Justin Long and Kate Bosworth play Scott and Liv Stewart, who live in the Hollywood Hills with their rebellious teenage daughter, Chloe (Mila Harris). Scott’s work has kept him from interacting with his family as much as anyone would like, but deadlines must be met in order to keep money coming in. The film establishes early that the strength and healing of this family is going to factor into any dangers they may face.
With wildfires blazing relatively close, a pack of savage coyotes makes its way into more populated areas, including the hills, where they snatch the occasional pet or even take nips at humans. On this particular night, a Santa Ana windstorm downs a tree in the family’s front lawn, somehow killing the power and crushing their car, leaving them fully trapped for the oncoming (and highly entertaining) coyote invasion. The animals work together; they can open doors and crawl through doggie doors, and they start picking off neighbors and anyone driving into the area.
Although we feel fairly certain the Stewarts will find a way to survive, they do so at a price. In fighting off the invading hordes, they get scratched, bitten, and otherwise brutalized. And it turns out the wildfires aren't the only reason the coyotes are especially aggressive; there’s something very specific to the family home that brings them in, but I won’t spoil that juicy surprise. But the Stewarts are resourceful, even with no power or phone service, and Scott even manages to build what can only be described as a “coyote cage” (similar to a shark cage) out of things around his house in order to go outside and get to a nearby car.
In terms of chemistry, Long and Bosworth are believable and quite amusing as a couple on the brink of disaster, both in the marriage and with the coyotes. Long can’t help but be funny in any situation, but he uses it sparingly, more to break the tension of certain terrifying moments than simply to crack dad jokes every chance he gets. He feels genuinely bad that his family feels distant from him, and he uses this crisis to start to mend what’s broken.
Some of the side stories about one neighbor who seems to like the occasional prostitute seems unnecessary, but the fact that said lady of the night ends up befriending the family and being a genuine asset in their fight against the canines. There’s also a silly supporting character of an exterminator (Keir O’Donnell), who starts out the film trying to help the family with rats in their walls, and returns to help them with these new pests; the character is played so broadly, we don’t really care what happens to him in the end.
Make no mistake, Coyotes is a horror movie. The invaders are rendered almost like monsters—snarling, bloodthirsty, predatory monsters. And on that level, it mostly works. The attacks are shot skillfully, and the results are fairly graphic. This is a nightmare scenario for this family, and the only way to escape is to come together. The emotional intensity is as real as the fangs of the coyotes. Watch out for both.
The film opens in theaters on October 3.
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