It speaks to the overall quality of Netflix's original movie slate in 2026 that I would rank new crime thriller "Animals" in my top five best of the year so far. On the surface, that seems like a big compliment. However, it's more a result of subpar competition than owing to the strength of this new Ben Affleck movie about a mayoral candidate in a desperate situation.
Affleck stars in and directed "Animals," and considering his pedigree in the thriller space, having helmed the likes of "Gone Baby Gone" and "Argo," not to mention playing the lead in genre titan "Gone Girl" and Netflix's popular "The Rip," I hoped this new Netflix original could capture that magic. It doesn't.
However, don't take all this as the introduction to a review where I eviscerate the movie and advise you to give it a wide berth. "Animals" does offer some solid thriller fundamentals. In the streaming space, where the barrier to entry is lower than catching a new release on the big screen, "Animals" is a perfectly serviceable way to spend two hours. It just never amounts to more than that.
Watch On Mark Kimball (Ben Affleck) is a Los Angeles mayoral candidate who is risking everything, from his rapidly crumbling marriage to his life savings, in the hopes of being elected. Under the advice of his campaign manager, Sam (Steven Yeun), he even puts the family home up as collateral to cover the cost of his election campaign — local TV airtime in L.A. certainly ain't cheap!
This financial gamble almost instantly backfires when his young son is kidnapped, and the criminals responsible demand an extortionate multi-million dollar ransom. With no access to that sort of money, Mark and his wife, Abigail (Kerry Washington), are in a desperate bind.
Netflix's new sci-fi thriller could have been the streamer's best movie of the year — but the watered-down finale sinks it 3 new to Netflix thriller movies to watch this week — including a magical Christopher Nolan movie with a stunning twist (Oct. 8-14) I watched Netflix's new crime thriller movie with Robert De Niro, and it gives major 'Silence of the Lambs' vibes In steps a criminal fixer (Gillian Anderson), well-versed in navigating all manner of dangerous situations. As the night progresses and their son's life hangs in the balance, Mark and Abigail must consider their options carefully, in turn revealing sides of their personalities, motivations, and marriage that were supposed to remain hidden.
After a perfunctory opening, which introduces Affleck's Mark and the movie's other main players and sets up a bunch of narrative dominoes you just know will come tumbling down at some point, "Animals" gets down to business. The politician learns from a mysterious caller that his son has been taken. The criminals want a lot of money that Mark doesn't have.
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