Ben Affleck's Animals on Netflix: critics split on his kidnapping thriller, out today

Animals, the crime thriller Ben Affleck directed and stars in, is on Netflix from Friday 9 October 2026, and the first reviews are rough, The Express Tribune reported.

What Animals is about

Affleck plays Mark Kimball, a candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, who scrambles to raise a $7 million ransom after his son is reported kidnapped, only for it to emerge that the kidnappers took the son of the family's housekeeper instead. The film is a modern reworking of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 crime drama High and Low, moved to Los Angeles and set against a mayoral race, with political ambition, privilege and immigration at its centre.

Affleck wrote it with Billy Ray and Connor O. McIntyre. The cast includes Kerry Washington as Mark's wife Abigail, Steven Yeun, Gillian Anderson, Adriana Paz and Luis Gerardo Mendez.

What the critics said

• Associated Press: two stars out of four, short of narrative energy and emotional depth.
• Vulture: a "catastrophe", with weak writing and thin characters.
• RogerEbert.com: Affleck's worst film as a director.
• Financial Times: four stars, a tightly built thriller, with praise for Gillian Anderson.

That is a hard landing for a director whose Gone Baby Gone, The Town and Argo, a Best Picture winner, made his name behind the camera. Netflix has not published viewing figures yet; its weekly top 10 lists show whether audiences agree with the critics.

Should you watch it tonight?

If you liked the 1963 original or Affleck's Boston crime films, the premise is the draw and the FT's review suggests the plotting holds up. If you go by the majority of reviews, it may be one to wait on until the word of mouth comes in.

What Netflix costs in Pakistan

Animals is included in every Netflix plan, with no extra rental. Prices in Pakistan start at Rs 250 a month on mobile before tax: every plan, the tax on foreign card payments and how to pay are in our Netflix packages in Pakistan guide.