There aren’t a lot of things you can always rely on in Hollywood, but one certainty over the last two decades is that if Justin Long is in a movie, in any capacity, he’ll find a way to elevate it. While his comedic chops often saw him starring in things like Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Accepted, and Waiting…, it’s projects like Jeeper Creepers, Drag Me to Hell, Tusk, and Barbarian that really cemented his chops in the genre world. Long’s latest genre project, Coyotes, sees him and his on-screen family facing off against…well, coyotes. The title isn’t code for anything, it’s just…coyotes. Coyotes might be the definitive tale of terror about the canines, so fans of animal-attack movies will likely connect with the material, but for others (like me), you’ll be left wishing there was a little more meat on the bone.

In the wake of a storm that knocks out a neighborhood’s power in the Hollywood Hills, Scott (Long), his wife Liv (Kate Bosworth), and their daughter Chloe (Mila Harris) are barricaded in their home due to some fallen trees. What starts as a bit of an inconvenience turns into something much more deadly, as the coyotes that roam the area have started to get a bit more bold, attacking people in the neighborhood to a deadly degree. The family must band together if they hope to not only survive the night, but also to escape the fearless critters who clearly have a bone to pick with humanity.

Given my affinity for all sorts of animals, delivering a movie in which harmless animals have been turned into monsters is something that immediately raises my hackles. Luckily, the tone of Coyotes is established quite quickly, confirming the inherent outlandishness of the premise by planting its tongue in its cheek. While the movie is definitely a horror-comedy, it never fully crosses over into parody-esque levels of absurdity, as seen in something like Piranha 3D. Instead, the more humorous elements come from the inherent bizarreness of the situation our protagonists have found themselves in, and from the eccentric supporting characters, like neighbor Trip (Norbert Leo Butz) and his “lady of the night” (their words, not mine) Julie (Brittany Allen).

Even though my frustrations with the notion of villifying animals were quelled based on the tone of Coyotes, the more comedic elements of the picture left me a bit disappointed. The movie wanted to be a straightforward horror movie while also incorporating some intentional silliness, resulting in something tonally similar to Lake Placid, The Meg, or Cocaine Bear. None of those movies, mind you, do all that much for me personally, though I know they have their followings, so this is just one Wolfman’s opinion.

Another hurdle that was difficult for Coyotes to overcome was the actual appearance of the animals. Director Cameron Minihan and the visual effects team largely leaned into CGI to bring the beasts to life, and mostly to a disappointing result. Animals covered in fur are arguably some of the most difficult things to animate for a movie, no matter what your budget might be, with that inherent challenge only being exacerbated by the film’s limited production budget. There are some striking images of snarling coyotes illuminated by moonlight and fire, though the camera lingers on them just long enough for viewers to see the bizarre sheen and weight of the animals that confirms they’re just CGI creations. Despite this understandably being a financial decision and a logistical one, for the safety of the animals and the performers, every time you see the coyotes, you’re taken out of the movie a bit.

The biggest setback with Coyotes is that it felt like a mish-mash of ideas and concepts and lacked much cohesion. For example, every time we meet a new character, they get a freeze frame where they are rendered in a comic-book style, complete with their name appearing on screen in big, stylized letters. This is a big stylistic swing to deliver to audiences, with the only real relevance being that Scott is a comic book creator. These reveals feel especially jarring when juxtaposed with just how dark and moody the visual palette of the rest of the film is. One of the first characters we meet is exterminator Devon (Keir O’Donnell), who’s clearly channeling the eccentricities of John Goodman’s character from Arachnophobia. His quirks are dialed up to 11, to the point of being a cartoon, with these character introductions and Devon’s exaggerated personality setting the stage for an outlandish outing, only to…not deliver that. Further into the film, Scott and Liv get into an emotional discussion about how Scott is losing touch with his family, which is seemingly meant to be a revelatory exchange, yet there has been so little evidence that there’s anything wrong with the family up to this point that this tension feels arbitrarily included.

Coyotes is a mixed bag of experiences, dipping its toes into genuine horror and tension while also embracing comedic elements, with the narrative jumping from one tone to the other each time it starts to build your interest. As anyone who has ever lived in or even visited Los Angeles can tell you, the concept of coyotes crossing the Rubicon from being curious scavengers to becoming vicious predators is all too real, so there’s an inherent intrigue in the premise. Fans of animal attack movies and creature features might be a bit more forgiving with the picture, as it’s a more competent entry into those subgenres, though even with Justin Long’s charm, it likely still won’t be engaging enough to win over skeptics (like me).

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