ANIMALS (NETFLIX) (2026)

SYNOPSIS: When their son is kidnapped, an LA mayoral candidate and his wife scramble to raise the ransom while making choices that could tear their world apart.

MOVIE REVIEW:

With Animals, we’re not sure if Ben Affleck is copying Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, paying tribute to Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, or simply doing his own remake. Whatever it is, Animals certainly looks inspired by Kurosawa’s classic, despite never acknowledging it in the movie.

In this crime thriller, which Affleck stars in, co-writes and directs, the son of Los Angeles mayoral candidate Mark Kimball (Affleck) is kidnapped. Naturally, the kidnappers demand a ransom, but Mark’s funds have mostly been spent on his campaign. However, as it turns out, it isn’t his son who has been kidnapped, but the son of his housemaid Cecilia’s boyfriend. So, is Mark going to honour his promise? It’s certainly a conflicting moral dilemma.

But there’s more to this story than a botched kidnapping. Mark’s wife, Abigail (Kerry Washington), has been having an affair for months with UCLA teacher Ron (Ray Fisher). Meanwhile, Mark’s campaign advisor, Sam Allison (Steven Yeun), is piling on the pressure by keeping a close eye on his campaign trail. Then there’s the shadowy fixer Dayle Burton (Gillian Anderson), who has no qualms about collecting her $1.4 million pay cheque regardless of how things turn out.

Certainly, there’s a lot going on in Animals. Politics, marital infidelity, kidnapping, a fixer and leverage. Affleck is certainly ambitious with his latest directorial effort, his second feature of the year following Netflix’s The Rip. With a résumé that includes The Town and Argo, we thought he could at least pull this off.

But alas, if Animals had shed the burden of trying to emulate Kurosawa’s classic and focused solely on Mark Kimball, the kidnapping, his failing marriage and his political career, it might have worked better. Then there’s the awkward insertion of the undocumented groundskeeper Ramon (Luis Gerardo Méndez) and housemaid Cecilia (Adriana Paz). Their side plot plays an important role later in the movie, but its inclusion feels unnecessary, unless Affleck is simply trying to show off his fluency in Spanish.

Animals isn’t entirely a disaster. There are a few sparks here and there, including an intense argument between Affleck and Washington over who is right and who is wrong in their marriage. The final 15 minutes or so also show that Affleck still has what it takes to deliver a decent, twisty thriller. But for the most part, Animals is a boring procedural drama that lacks the promised suspense and thrills. Even the villain’s motive and identity remain a blur.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee