Animals, Ben Affleck’s Netflix Thriller Had Me Wishing I’d Just Rewatched Gone Girl
Animals Review: Ben Affleck’s Netflix Thriller Had Me Wishing I’d Just Rewatched Gone Girl
I Went In Wanting to Love It
I’ll say it plainly: Animals, directed by and starring Ben Affleck, was a total disappointment for me. I’m a huge fan of Gone Girl, the 2014 David Fincher thriller Affleck starred in, and I’ve seen it at least 25 to 30 times in my life. I can put it on at any moment and get pulled right back in. Maybe that was a mistake, because comparing any thriller to Gone Girl is an unfair fight. But that’s the standard Affleck’s name sets for me, and Animals didn’t come close to it.
If you only want to know whether it’s worth your Friday night, my honest answer is that you’d probably be better off rewatching a thriller you already love.
A Mayoral Candidate, a Missing Son, and a Ticking Clock
Affleck plays Mark Kimball, a Gulf War veteran running for mayor of Los Angeles. When his young son is kidnapped, Mark and his wife Abigail, played by Kerry Washington, have only hours to raise a $7 million ransom. As they scramble to meet the kidnappers’ demands, the choices they make start exposing political and personal secrets that threaten to tear their carefully built life apart. The film is co-written by Affleck, Connor O. McIntyre, and Billy Ray, and it’s distributed by Netflix.
Read the Netflix Tudum feature →A Strong Cast, and Critics Singled Out the Performances
Alongside Affleck and Washington, the film features Gillian Anderson as Dayle Burton, a fixer hired to help navigate the crisis, plus Steven Yeun as Sam Allison, Luis Gerardo Mendez as Ramon, Ray Fisher as Ron Sperling, and Adriana Paz as Cecilia Trujillo. Even many of the critics who disliked the movie had good things to say about the cast, with one calling Anderson splendidly glacial and another wishing the film gave her more to do.
No. 1 on Netflix, but the Lowest-Rated Film of His Directing Career
Viewers did show up. Animals reached the top of Netflix’s movie chart soon after release. Critics weren’t as generous. The film opened in the mid thirties on Rotten Tomatoes and has settled around 33 percent, making it Affleck’s lowest-scoring movie as a director by a hair, just under 2016’s Live By Night. The audience score is only slightly better, in the low forties.
The criticism is consistent. Reviewers call the script flat, overwrought, and generic, and many say the tension fades after an early twist as the story slides from psychological thriller toward ordinary streaming fare. The New York Times compared it to an inedible gruel made with top shelf ingredients. You can see the full breakdown on the film’s Rotten Tomatoes page.
It’s Included With Your Netflix Subscription
Animals has been streaming on Netflix since October 9, 2026, with a standard subscription, after a limited run in select theaters.