Good Boy — Review
Source: Shudder
The Academy Awards have been around for 96 years, and in that time, countless animals have given performances worthy of recognition. Yet there is still no Oscar for Best Performance by a Dog in a Motion Picture. If such an award existed, this year it would, without a doubt, go to Indy, the heart and soul of Good Boy.
Ben Leonberg’s feature directorial debut unites dog lovers and horror fans by presenting a story told from a canine’s perspective. However, this unique approach is not a mere gimmick. This isn’t just a horror film that happens to feature a dog on screen the whole time. Leonberg and co-writer Alex Cannon crafted a narrative that genuinely explores what would frighten our furry companions most. The film is reminiscent of Philip K. Dick's short story "Roog" and Raphael Bob-Waksberg's "Rufus" in its commitment to inhabiting a dog’s mindset.
A mix of low-angle shots and close-ups of Indy’s reactions, often framed at his eye level, immerses the viewer in his world. The sound design strengthens this perspective with heightened ambient noises, such as the rustling of leaves, creaking floorboards, and distant growls, as they might be perceived by a dog. The result is a film that effectively uses horror conventions to convey a story that emotionally resonates with dog owners.
Source: Shudder
Good Boy also stands out for its minimal dialogue, which calls to mind last year’s Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature, Gints Zilbalodis's Flow. Of course, this time it is a live-action story of a dog rather than an animated cat, but both films share a fascination with how animals navigate their ever-evolving environments and process perceived threats.
Coincidentally, there’s another work of animation that Good Boy is also evocative of, which is the television show Courage the Cowardly Dog. Good Boy is essentially the closest we’ll get to a live-action version of Courage the Cowardly Dog, for the way it depicts a dog whose greatest fear is anything that puts his human in danger. However, instead of living on a farm with an elderly couple, our canine protagonist lives with a man named Todd as he moves into an old rural family home.
From the moment Indy sets paw inside, he senses something is off, sniffing and exploring his new surroundings. Anyone who has ever witnessed their dog stare into empty corners or bark at seemingly nothing will find these moments unnervingly familiar. Watching the film even brought me back to a time when I moved across the country with my dog and we stayed overnight at a rundown airport motel. He spent the entire evening fixated on a single corner of the room, restless and uneasy. I half-joked that he was seeing a ghost, though perhaps he was simply anxious about leaving home. Either way, it was disconcerting, much like Indy’s experiences in Good Boy.
The film employs a handful of jump scares, but they are effective and sparing. More often, it relies on unsettling imagery to establish an eerie atmosphere of tension and dread. It has a quasi-found footage style that many may compare to Skinamarink. But it feels like an insult to Good Boy to even mention it in the same sentence as Skinamarink. Unlike that film, Good Boy successfully transcends its conceit and delivers something far more engaging.
Source: Shudder
Hardcore horror fans may find the film less frightening than expected. It is ultimately more introspective and emotional than explicitly terrifying. For dog lovers, however, it will undoubtedly strike a powerful emotional chord, making them want to rush home from the theater to hug their pets immediately.
From a filmmaking perspective, Good Boy is an impressive achievement. During a Q&A, Leonberg discussed how numerous scenes in the script had to be reworked or altered to accommodate what his dog could or couldn’t do. Sound design was another challenge, since Leonberg and producer Kari Fischer often had to give Indy commands during filming, which meant stripping dialogue and layering in diegetic sound later. The film was years in the making, shot in pieces until the narrative gradually came together.
Without that context, some viewers might perceive the film as amateurish. The visual effects have a discernibly low-budget quality. Additionally, the line delivery from the human actors isn’t always convincing. Nonetheless, Indy’s performance does the heavy lifting as he effectively embodies all the right emotions to tell a proper story.
While it feels as though there’s something sinister or supernatural lurking in the home, Good Boy’s narrative evolves into something more abstract and profound than its premise initially suggests. The film never overstays its welcome thanks to its concise 72-minute runtime. Although at times the premise does start to feel as though it’s stretched pretty thin, and it eventually becomes easy to ascertain where the story is headed and uncover what the real evil is that’s lurking in their home.
In the end, Good Boy boasts a refreshingly original premise and one of the greatest canine performances ever captured on film. It is a horror film with heart, one that gives both dog lovers and genre fans a story that is entertaining and unexpectedly poignant.
Good Boy hits theaters on October 3rd.
