Coyotes [Fantastic Fest Review]

by Mike McGranaghan

Wile E. Coyote looks downright benevolent compared to the creatures in Coyotes. This horror-comedy from Grave Encounters director Colin Minahan, which had its world premiere at the 2025 edition of Fantastic Fest, finds a pack of the titular animals going on a people-eating rampage. They’re menacing, the characters are funny, and the combination of the two results in a movie that makes you laugh and hoot in delight at all the crazy carnage.

A wildfire has hit the Hollywood Hills, leaving comic book artist Scott (Justin Long), wife Liv (Kate Bosworth), and daughter Chloe (Mila Harris) trapped. The fires have seemingly pushed a pack of coyotes out of the woods and closer to the houses. Similarly trapped are their playboy neighbor Trip (Norbert Leo Butz) and Julie (Brittany Allen), the sex worker he’s hired for the evening. At first, nobody realizes how much danger they’re in. It becomes clear quickly enough, leaving the gang to figure out how to force the beasts to retreat.

Much of the humor in Coyotes comes from the cluelessness of the players. None are physically or psychologically equipped to fight off the furry tormenters, and the idea of becoming coyote food brings out an extreme sense of panic. Long is a master at playing characters who are out of their depth. His line delivery and physical comedy prowess are nicely utilized here. He makes Scott’s fear as humorous as it is justified. Butz and Allen bring the laughs, too, with the former portraying Trip as a hilariously sleazy guy and the latter scoring with Julie’s dim-bulb mentality.

The money scenes are the coyote attacks. Humans get chomped, bitten, gnawed on, and otherwise mangled. Minahan designs them to hit that sweet spot of being gory, but also exaggerated enough that you chuckle at the gore. The inept nature of the characters plays a part in that. They often make the worst choices possible, so in a weird way they deserve what they get. The lady who tries to blow one up with her gas grill and explodes herself instead is a prime example.

Visual effects used to make the animals’ faces as fearsome as possible prove highly convincing. Unlike the rabid dogs in the similar A Breed Apart earlier in the year, these aren’t third-rate CGI creations. They’re scary looking. That quality is especially important during the grand finale, where Scott comes face to face with them while protected by the most ludicrous “armor” imaginable. The comedy/horror mix is perfect.

Coyotes will very much appeal to fans of Anaconda, Lake Placid, and Cocaine Bear. The picture has no greater meaning; it simply wants to be a fun, outrageous animal attack adventure. Minahan scores on that count. It’s a (terrible pun intended) howling good time.

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