'Animals' Review: A Tense but Ultimately Forgettable Thriller
By Romey Norton - October 12, 2026
Netflix is back with its latest thriller instalment. With recent series such as Below and films like The Whisper Man, it’s not just true-crime docs Netflix wants to be known for.
After a cheesy campaign opening sequence, this thriller starts with a situation most parents would find almost impossible to imagine: your child has been kidnapped, a ransom has been demanded, and you have to decide just how far you are willing to go to get them back. Animals, directed by Ben Affleck, pushes this nightmare into the world of politics, where reputation, ambition, and carefully protected secrets become just as dangerous as the kidnapping itself. But with a lack of action and drive, this film treads the line between being a thriller and kitchen sink drama.
Affleck, who also co-writes the screenplay with Billy Ray and Connor O. McIntyre, centres the Netflix film on a mayoral candidate and his wife who are desperate to raise the money needed to secure their son's release. Their desperation quickly leads them towards increasingly extreme measures, and it is here that Animals finds its most interesting territory. This story is about what happens when control is taken out of your hands.
The plot takes some twists and turns you wouldn’t at first expect, which causes more pressure for the couple, and their personal lives begin to expose things they would rather keep hidden. The ransom becomes more than a financial demand; it becomes the catalyst for secrets to surface. That gives Animals an appropriately murky atmosphere. Morality becomes increasingly difficult to separate from survival, and the film doesn’t offer its audience easy answers.
Ben Affleck is also an intriguing choice to direct a story like this. His filmmaking career has increasingly demonstrated an interest in crime, pressure and flawed characters, and making B Movies with a polished finish with Netflix is a great move. In January he produced and starred in a cop drama, The Rip, another film that keeps the drama behind closed doors. It does make me wonder what diluted drama Affleck is going to make next.
The main reason to watch is for the star-studded cast, including Affleck, Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun and Kerry Washington. There’s great chemistry between the characters and each one has a strong presence on screen. Anderson brings her calm, yet serious tone, Washington is dramatic and emotional and Yeun brings some classic comedic relief, whether he means to or not. They each play their parts well, and keep the pace moving, but no ones character demands a lot from them - with these talents the script could have really pushed some of the emotional scenes.
The story does lose its way, amongst all the talking and characters. Animals needs its central couple to feel like believable human beings rather than simply vehicles for the next shocking revelation. The emotional stakes have to remain at the heart of the story and there are times this falters. The story feels as if it’s constantly building to something, but we never get that hard-hitting climax. And once their son is returned and another is kidnapped, their emotional stakes feel less, and at times, false. Fans of fast-moving action will find this film a bit of a slow burn. There’s also times where the dialogue over-explains, rather than showing the audience.
With a predictable, yet somewhat satisfying end, it's arguably the best part of the film, dialogue and visually, as it shows the true corruption of politics, and explains the fitting title, Animals. Overall, Animals is interested in that uglier, more instinctive side of human behaviour - the part that emerges when survival takes over. Its premise is simple enough to pull you in, but the darker questions underneath it never quite give the story the weight it needs. The film attempts to maintain that balance between gripping suspense and genuine character drama, but ultimately struggles to offer anything particularly memorable, proving to be a rather generic examination of just how far people will go when the person they love most is taken away. For fans of true crime and thrillers, there may be enough here to warrant a watch, but Animals is unlikely to leave much of a lasting impression.
'Animals' is streaming now on Netflix, following its release on October 9, 2026.
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Romey Norton
Senior Writer
Romey is a senior writer for Film Focus Online, covering the latest film reviews, news, features and interviews, with a passion for all things cinema.
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