COYOTES Review | Fantastic Fest 2025

The below review is part of my 2025 Fantastic Fest coverage. Be sure to stay tuned throughout the week for more reviews!

The thing about me is that I do love a stupid creature feature. Especially when said creature feature revolves around coyotes which, of course, takes us to Colin Minihan’s feature.

Here's the thing — and yes, this context is necessary so far as my enjoyment of the film is concerned — I'm from the sticks. Coyotes are not frightening, nor are they a threat. They're simply a nuisance in the same way that raccoons or opossums are nuisances. But gods save you if you say that within earshot of an Angeleno (where the film is based) who doesn't bother to keep their cat inside or their small dog monitored. "Some of us have children" the tortured mothers of Nextdoor cry into the void, begging anyone to do something about the "terrifying predators" that are "threatening their young." (Why's your infant outside by itself, Sharon?) Though Coyotes doesn't bother itself with highlighting the nonsensical fears of the city in which it's placed, it does tell its story through the kind of absurdist lens that feels like it's mocking said fear anyway.

The story follows Scott (Justin Long), his wife, Liv (Kate Bosworth) and their daughter, Chloe (Mila Harris). Scott's a comic book creator obsessed with ensuring that his family remain in the lap of luxury in the Hollywood Hills rather than return to the shitty one-bedroom they suffered through in K-Town. He's got two main issues in life: the aforementioned hyperfixation and a fear of blood. Meanwhile, Liv's trying to keep her family together and Chloe, their anguished teen, really just wants her dad. It's impossible for their family dynamic to be any more of a stereotype, but it fits in with the movie's vibe. 

Everything goes to shit when a massive storm takes down the tree in their front yard, crushing their car. Then, all the power goes out and the howls begin. 

Still, there are some odd inconsistencies in the film. The family lives in the hills, in a house that costs no less than $4 million, but Scott asks about a payment plan when he calls in pest control to deal with some rats in the wall; the CGI coyotes don't just look terrible, there are also plenty of times that they appear to be composited with wolves to make them more frightening; and when we meet coyote babies later in the film they are just straight up shiba inu puppies right up until they're not. They're composited later with straight tails rather than the patented shiba inu curl that they're sporting throughout the majority of their appearance. 

Characters like the exterminator and their coked out neighbor and his sex worker add to the absurdity of Coyotes. It does poke a little fun at the sex worker, which I thought we were beyond in the year of our lady 2025 but, given that every character in this film is a rote stereotype, I can't really find the energy to be too up in arms over it.

You'll never believe this — I can hardly believe it myself — but a major part of what made Coyotes work for me is the plot. Which is bad! However, said bad plot basically rips the climax of its story from a segment in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and I regret to inform you that makes it exactly my shit no matter how silly or poorly made it is. 

Verdict

Coyotes is not so bad that it's good. It's just bad. But it's exactly my kind of bad, meaning that I am forced to recommend its shenanigans to anyone who's looking for a mindless, nonsensical creature feature with some really poorly rendered coyotes. 

Pickety Witch is independently run. If you enjoyed this review, please consider subscribing.