Coyotes has a simple survival setup. A family is trapped in their Hollywood Hills home while a wildfire closes in and a pack of coyotes surrounds them. On paper, it sounds tense and effective. In reality, the film never builds real suspense or emotional urgency. The danger feels artificial, and the situation quickly becomes repetitive instead of escalating.
The story struggles to find balance between thriller, drama, and dark comedy. None of these tones fully work together. Scenes meant to be intense often feel silly, and moments that should feel scary come off flat. The writing does not dig deep into the characters, so it is hard to care about what happens to them.
Justin Long is clearly trying, but even he cannot save the material. His performance feels stuck between seriousness and parody. The rest of the cast feels underused, with characters reacting rather than evolving. The acting overall feels uneven, and at times surprisingly weak.
The film is directed by Colin Minihan, whose visual style is competent but uninspired here. The direction never finds a strong rhythm or atmosphere. The coyotes themselves feel more like a concept than a real threat, and the film relies too much on noise and chaos instead of tension.
Critics were mostly negative, pointing out the weak script and tonal confusion. For me, the film felt like a missed opportunity. The premise had potential, but the execution was poor. Coyotes ends up being forgettable, not scary, and emotionally empty.
But you know what? Even with all of that, I somehow found it entertaining. It is not good in a serious or thoughtful way, but it kept my attention. There is something about how ridiculous and chaotic it gets that makes it watchable. I would not defend it as a strong film, but I cannot deny that I enjoyed it more than I expected. Sometimes a movie just works on a very basic level, and Coyotes did that for me.