“Coyotes” howls but rarely bites

Music video director Colin Minihand ventures into the horror genre with his latest feature, “Coyotes,” from Aura Entertainment. The screenplay, written by Tad Daggerhart, Daniel Meersand, and Nick Simon, centers on a family trapped in their Hollywood Hills home who must fight for survival as a pack of savage coyotes closes in.

“Coyotes” opens with a familiar horror film trope: a well-known star meets an early demise. In this case, it’s an influencer named Kat, though I won’t reveal the actress portraying her. Next, we meet the Dad (Justin Long), Mom (Kate Bosworth), and their daughter Chloe (Mila Harris). While the family is well-off financially, it’s clear that they have seen better days. An early interaction with an exterminator named Deon (Keir O’Donnell) reveals that Dad isn’t much of an alpha male. Other characters in the film include Trip (Norbert Leo Butz) and his live-in girlfriend Julie (Brittany Allen).

The script establishes its premise quickly, with a power outage rendering their phones unusable. When the coyotes do attack, escaping becomes a daunting challenge. Before that pivotal moment, however, a few stragglers are picked off to satisfy the gore fans. One notable aspect of the film is the director’s evident affection for comic books.

Each character is introduced in a hand-drawn style, perhaps reflecting Minihand’s desire to see himself represented in the film. Unfortunately, this approach became somewhat distracting after a while, as I struggled to become fully invested in the characters.

Long and Bosworth do their best with the material, but their performances aren’t particularly memorable; they seem to be delivering routine, paycheck performances. Their daughter, Chloe, played by Mila Harris, has a bit more complexity to work with. Other characters in the film are typical horror movie tropes, with Brittany Allen standing out more than the rest. It’s worth noting that she also scored the film.

While I’m sure “Coyotes” will find an audience among horror fans, I felt that it lacked any real impact.

Final Grade: C-

“Coyotoes” opens in theaters on October 3rd.