Credit: Netflix

In Ben Affleck’s Netflix Original political thriller, Animals, a terrifying kidnapping sets the story in motion, forcing a mayoral candidate and his wife into a race against time to accumulate a ransom to rescue their son before it’s too late.

But what happens when their desperate efforts threaten their carefully constructed lives and careers, ultimately prompting an unravelling?

Well, don’t worry! We don’t believe in spoilers. That said, we prefer to step up when the credits roll, leaving you craving more.

So, if you’re done with the Affleck-starrer, here are five movies to stream on Netflix after Animals.

Five movies to binge on Netflix after Animals

Prisoners (Denis Villeneuve, 2013)

If you’re looking for an intense kidnapping thriller with the urgency of Animals, you’re in luck since Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners is currently streaming on Netflix. The 2013 crime thriller, starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, centres on a desperate yet determined father, Keller Dover’s mission to track down her six-year-old daughter, Anna, and her friend Joy Birth, who mysteriously go missing after walking near an old parked RV.

As Detective Loki starts investigating the case, suspicion falls on Alex Jones, the developmentally disabled man who was behind the steering wheel of that very car. But lacking significant evidence, law enforcement is forced to set Alex free. Convinced that Alex knows about the youngsters’ whereabouts, Keller decides to take matters into his own hands, resulting in the suspect’s abduction and subsequent torture. But does that bring the father any closer to the truth?

Drop (Christopher Landon, 2025)

If the threat against one of your own in Animals had you sweating, Drop, directed by Christopher Landon, makes the perfect follow-up on Netflix. Imagine going out on your first blind date in years only to realise a terrible threat has been making its presence known inside the four walls of your cosy home where your loved ones await. Well, that’s what happens to the film’s protagonist, Violet, a widowed mother.

After years away from the dating scene, Violet goes out with a charming photographer named Henry at a posh Chicago skyscraper restaurant, leaving her young son Toby with her sister at home. But just minutes into their romantic outing, she starts receiving anonymous digital messages from a nearby DigiDrop app from a mysterious sender who demands she destroy an SD card from Henry’s camera containing evidence of political corruption, in exchange for setting her loved ones free, whom she thought were safe at home.

Vanished Into the Night (Renado De Maria, 2024)

At the heart of Animals is the burning question: how far would you go to protect your loved ones? Well, if you watch Vanished Into the Night, you might get a perspective or two: equally deadly, difficult, and somewhat unbelievable. The Italian thriller follows divorcing parents Pietro and Elena as they are caught up in an ugly custody battle for their children, Bianca and Giovanni. But amidst the high-stakes fight, the kids suddenly go missing from Pietro’s secluded country home one night.

Briefly after, Pietro receives a call from the kidnapper, demanding a whopping €150,000 ransom in exchange for his children’s safe return. Although Pietro would give the money had he not been drowning under excessive gambling debts, instead, he turns to an old criminal acquaintance to accumulate the cash, performing a risky illegal drug-smuggling deal to save his children. While desperate times call for desperate measures, is it honest enough to ensure Bianca and Giovanni are back to him?

Hold the Dark (Jeremy Saulnier, 2018)

Since the inciting incident in Animals is a child’s kidnapping, the underrated Netflix thriller Hold the Dark will hit all the right chords on the post-watch party. The dark, atmospheric thriller opens with a grieving mother named Medora, who reaches out to retired wolf expert, naturalist, and author Russell Core, urging him to hunt down the wolves she alleges abducted and killed her six-year-old son in the far-off village of Keelut in Alaska.

While Core stays at her house, he tries to explain to Medora that this is not typical wolf behaviour. However, Medora insists she knows better. Although he decides to take her suggestion and follow the route where he finds a pack of wolves eating their young, instead of shooting them, Core returns to Medora’s home only to find the missing kid’s strangled body in the cellar and her mother missing.

Fractured (Brad Anderson, 2019)

To wrap up the post-viewing marathon for Animals, we recommend Fractured, directed by Brad Anderson. The gritty psychological thriller tells the story of a desperate father whose family mysteriously go missing at a hospital following a terrifying accident. The story kicks off as Ray, his wife Joanne, and their six-year-old daughter Peri drive home after a Thanksgiving dinner at his in-laws, stopping by a gas station to use the restroom.

But while there, a stray dog startles Peri, pushing her backwards, and she falls into the pit. Although Ray rushes to her and dives to save Peri, realising they need immediate medical attention, he drives back to a nearby hospital he passed by before. As Ray falls asleep in the waiting area and wakes hours later, he asks the staff about the whereabouts of his wife and daughter, only to be told they’ve no record. Convinced there’s more to the incident than meets the eye, Ray spirals into chaos and resorts to extreme measures. But is that enough to guarantee his loved ones’ return?