Aura Entertainment’s Coyotes will make its debut this month during Austin’s Fantastic Fest before hitting theaters in October. The new film is directed by Colin Minihan, who wrote and directed What Keeps You Alive and co-created the cult fave found footage film Grave Encounters.
Coyotes is a comedy/horror film about a family who must fight for their survival when a pack of coyotes surrounds their home. And these are not cute little cartoon coyotes, they mean business. The press release describes them as a “bloodthirsty canine death cult.” Real-life husband and wife Justin Long (Barbarian) and Kate Bosworth (Straw Dogs) portray Scott and Liv Stewart, who live in their Hollywood Hills home with their young daughter Chloe.
When a Santa Ana windstorm knocks out their power and takes out their SUV, the three are stuck in the house with no cell phone service and no way to escape. Making matters worse are the pack of wild coyotes that begin by attacking and eating the Stewart’s neighbors before surrounding them. When they are trapped between the coyotes and spreading wildfires, the family must fight to survive with only an old iPad and a flashlight at their disposal (and as the description reads: “Just enough Spam to cause a riot”).
Rounding out the cast of Coyotes are Brittany Allen (What Keeps You Alive), Katherine McNamara (Shadowhunters), Mila Harris (Mary) and Norbert Leo Butz (A Complete Unknown).
Director Minihan is quoted as saying: “I read the first draft of COYOTES and started laughing out loud. It had bite. It had chaos. And most importantly, it had fun. I was sitting with Britt, flipping pages, both of us wide-eyed and saying, "Okay, this is f***ing nuts.” That’s when I knew I wanted in.”
Minihan said that at the time, there were actually coyotes stalking his old dog in his own Hollywood Hills home, and that “every night felt like a horror movie.” So, it makes sense that he was drawn to the storyline for Coyotes.
Minihan also says of his stars that Justin Long gives what he believes to be his best acting performance since 2022’s Barbarian, and that Kate Bosworth was “completely dialed in.”
As the tagline in the press release reads: “Welcome to the apex of the food chain. It’s going badly.” If that’s an indicator of the humor contained in Coyotes, count me in!