Animals

Play trailer

1:00

Animals

R

Oct 2026

1h 46m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

Action

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

29%

Tomatometer

82 Reviews

37%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

When their son is kidnapped, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate and his wife find themselves drawn into a web of deception. As they scramble to raise the ransom payment, they're forced to make choices that could tear their world apart.

Watch on Netflix

Stream Now

Audience Says

Despite all the makings of an enticing story, including a compelling Kerry Washington, Animals’ weak writing prevents it from reaching its full potential.

Read Audience Reviews

Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

Oct 15, 2026

2/4

Animals is indeed a curious beast, a familiar thriller that poorly cribs from the classic Kurosawa film “High and Low” and feels stuck in its larval stage.

Go to Full Review

John Nugent

Empire Magazine

Oct 15, 2026

3/5

A mixed bag. It’s far from Affleck’s best work, but there are glimmers of his muscularity and sharpness, as both filmmaker and actor.

Go to Full Review

Ryan Lattanzio

IndieWire

Oct 10, 2026

C-

For every piece of drone footage sweeping across LA, every shot that carves out about two feet of space between actors with no sizzle, I kept wishing for more Gillian Anderson, more Gillian Anderson, please.

Go to Full Review

Robert W. Butler

Butler's Cinema Scene

1 day ago

C

The Kimballs come off as wealthy, self-obsessed assholes. Whether this was Affleck and Crew’s intention I don’t know. But “Animals” gives us few characters to root for.

Go to Full Review

Maxance Vincent

Cosmic Circus

4 days ago

1.5/5

How the mighty have fallen...

Go to Full Review

Michael Medved

The Michael Medved Show

5 days ago

2/4

An acclaimed filmmaker and star wasting his gifts on an often painfully plotting potboiler that only intermittently grabs your attention.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Paul S

@PManRager 16 hrs ago

I'm shocked to see how low this movie scored; I thought this was amazing. The story was incredibly intense, and the back-and-forth between the characters added to the movie's dysfunctional atmosphere. Ben Affleck gave one of the best performances of his career in this movie. I definitely recommend this for drama, thriller, and crime fans!

See more

MariofanAlex445 T

@RT47678067 21 hrs ago

Just not good. I hated his wife with a burning passion. What is her deal, yo? For the most part it kept me interested but definitely not a good movie. 1.5/5 stars.

See more

Stephen C

@dogfood23111 1 day ago

This movie is rated R.

See more

Horror fan 4

@Horrorfan4life 2 days ago

This was really good , especially the ending. The dark secrets that are revealed isn't anything new or that shocking which is why I took 2 points off my score. I was looking for deep dark secrets from all the characters involved but not just one secret multiple secrets. Still I like the characters and performances. Tim Treakle

See more

Christian K

@ckacar 2 days ago

Really doesn't hold up to any sort of scrutiny of its plot or characters but at least the politician won in the end.

See more

Max M

@Househuntermax 2 days ago

A solid effort from Affleck. Great acting but maybe needed another action scene to be as good as something like Ransom. Still, recommend for movie night.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Ben Affleck

Director

Ben Affleck

Mark Kimball

Kerry Washington

Actor

Gillian Anderson

Actor

Steven Yeun

Actor

Luis Gerardo Méndez

Actor

Animals: Trailer 2

1:00

Now Playing

Animals: Trailer 1

1:50

Now Playing

Animals: Teaser Trailer

1:10

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

When their son is kidnapped, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate and his wife find themselves drawn into a web of deception. As they scramble to raise the ransom payment, they're forced to make choices that could tear their world apart.

Director: Ben Affleck
Producer: Brad Weston, Collin Creighton, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Dani Bernfeld, Luciana Damon
Screenwriter: Connor O. McIntyre, Billy Ray, Ben Affleck
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Artists Equity, Fifth Season
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 9, 2026, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 9, 2026
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings