Netflix has released the teaser for Animals, a political thriller starring Ben Affleck and Kerry Washington as a Los Angeles mayoral candidate and his wife facing a threat that sends their family into crisis. Affleck also co-wrote and directed the film, which will arrive in select theaters and on Netflix on October 9.
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Affleck plays Mark Kimball, a candidate for mayor of Los Angeles whose life changes after he receives an ominous phone call. Washington plays his wife, Abigail. The couple soon learns that someone has kidnapped their son, forcing them to raise a ransom payment while they confront a growing web of deception.
The situation places pressure on the life the Kimballs have built and forces both characters to make increasingly difficult decisions. The story combines the stakes of a family kidnapping with Mark’s political ambitions, using Los Angeles as an active setting for the thriller.
The cast also includes Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Adriana Paz, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Ray Fisher, Mark Kassen, and Christopher Woodley. Anderson’s credits include The Crown and The X-Files, while Yeun has appeared in BEEF and Minari. Paz has worked on Emilia Pérez and Spectre, and Méndez has appeared in Club de Cuervos and Murder Mystery. Fisher’s credits include Zack Snyder’s Justice League and The Piano Lesson.
Animals adds another directing project to Affleck’s career, which has included acting, writing, producing and filmmaking over three decades. He appeared in films including Gone Girl and Shakespeare in Love and won an Academy Award for co-writing Good Will Hunting. His work as a director includes Argo, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The new teaser brings viewers directly into the Kimballs’ home during the night that changes their lives. The film follows their attempt to respond to the kidnapping while uncertainty grows around the people they can trust and the choices available to them.
Production took place in and around Los Angeles, with the filmmakers using the city as part of the story. The production also kept work within the local film community and supported Los Angeles-based filmmaking.
Artists Equity, the artist-led studio founded by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital, partnered on the film. Affleck, Damon and Dani Bernfeld produce alongside Brad Weston and Collin Creighton of Makeready. Makeready developed the project in partnership with Fifth Season.
Netflix will release the film in select theaters and on the platform on October 9.
