Animals Trailer Ben Affleck And Kerry Washington Face A Nightmare Where Power Cannot Protect Them

Netflix has unveiled the full official trailer for Animals, the upcoming thriller directed by and starring Ben Affleck. The film puts a powerful Los Angeles couple at the centre of a terrifying kidnapping crisis, forcing them to make increasingly desperate choices when their carefully constructed lives begin to fall apart.

Affleck plays Mark Kimball, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose political ambitions have consumed much of his life. Alongside him is Kerry Washington as his wife, Abigail. Their seemingly polished existence takes a devastating turn when their son is kidnapped, leaving the couple with only hours to raise a ransom and bring their child home.

The catch is that much of the family's money has already gone into Mark's political campaign. Suddenly, the public image he has spent so much time building becomes a liability rather than an advantage. With the clock ticking, Mark and Abigail are forced to look beyond conventional solutions and confront secrets, compromises and parts of their lives they would rather keep hidden.

The trailer's tagline, “Power can't protect you,” neatly captures the central idea behind the thriller. Mark may be running for one of the most powerful positions in Los Angeles, but when his own family becomes the target, political influence offers little comfort. The kidnapping forces the couple into a situation where every decision carries consequences, both personally and professionally.

Animals also appears to explore the darker side of ambition. Mark has invested heavily in his campaign and built a public identity around leadership, respectability and influence. But when his son's life is at stake, those carefully maintained boundaries begin to disappear. The ransom crisis pushes the couple into territory that could expose secrets capable of damaging both their family and Mark's political future.

The film boasts an impressive ensemble alongside Affleck and Washington. Gillian Anderson, Adriana Paz, Ray Fisher, Christopher Woodley, Matt Gerald, Jacob Estrada, Steven Yeun and Luis Gerardo Méndez are all part of the cast. With such a varied ensemble surrounding the central couple, the story appears to extend beyond the immediate kidnapping crisis into a larger web of relationships and deception.

Behind the camera, Affleck is taking on multiple responsibilities. He directs the film while also starring as Mark Kimball. The screenplay is credited to Connor O. McIntyre, Billy Ray and Ben Affleck, bringing together writers with experience in crime, political and thriller storytelling.

The premise gives Animals a particularly tense ticking-clock structure. Mark and Abigail don't simply have to find the money; they have to figure out how far they are willing to go to get it. As their options become narrower, the distinction between protecting their family and protecting their public image becomes increasingly difficult to maintain.

For Affleck, the project also continues his long association with crime and thriller dramas, both as an actor and filmmaker. His directorial work has previously explored characters caught between criminal worlds, personal loyalties and moral compromises, making Animals a natural addition to that side of his filmmaking career.

Netflix is bringing Animals to audiences on October 9, 2026. With its kidnapping premise, political backdrop, high-stakes family drama and an ensemble led by Ben Affleck and Kerry Washington, the film is shaping up as a tense thriller built around one frightening question: what would you be willing to sacrifice when your child's life is on the line?