Good Boy Review
Proving Why Dog is Man’s Best Friend At The Darkest Times
Horror is often marked by how much it frightens us. To most, it’s about the grotesque and the macabre — the negative emotions we feel as we recoil from the screen or page, ready to scream as our heart races and panic rises.
It’s a reflection of our insecurities and worries. A memento mori of the dangers that can take us away from this mortal world, and damn us to pain, misery, and fear before dying, and possibly even beyond the grave.
Yet, horror is more than that. It’s a reflection of the things that we fear most. It can, and often does, include tragedy within it too. To see our loved ones wither away and die, knowing that there’s nothing we can do to stop the unrelenting march of time. To see the powerful monster in the shadows stalk us and our peers, incapable of fighting back, to stare into the abyss, and worry that there is nothing there.
It’s the building unease you feel when your Father leaves your apartment on a chilly, stormy night and doesn’t call to let you know he made it home. To get the news that your sister is in the hospital because she had a fall at work, and you wait to hear developments. To see your cat one day with a little more gray on his muzzle than the week before. To crash your car off the side of a back road in a snowstorm, and all you have is a blanket for warmth.
That is the essence of what “Good Boy” is about. At its core, it’s a movie about a man and his dog, and the creeping realization that something is very, very wrong.
Normally, I try to keep these reviews as spoiler-free as possible. My goal with these is always to discuss their best aspects and see if they interest you based on what you might like or dislike, rather than trying to convince you to agree with my opinion.
However, this time I’ll eschew that for one MAJOR SPOILER.
Yes, the dog lives.
I felt that was necessary because I believe most people would avoid this movie due to that fear alone, so let me assure you of it in case you want to watch it sometime. I personally feel it’s worth it, not only because it’s a unique experience to see a haunted house from a dog’s perspective, but also because the story is universal, whether it’s horror or not. Of course, my reviews are usually built around the idea of “maybe you’ll like it if… maybe not if…”, so I’ll break this review down into the core components that exemplify it, as well as why you should or should not watch it.
As usual, let’s get into it!
Cinematography
The movie is beautifully made.
For starters, as I said above, we’re in the point of view of Indy (the dog in the story) for almost the entire movie. This means the camera is down, at eye level with his view. Everything feels so much bigger than it should be, even though Indy himself is not exactly a small dog.
Cluttered rooms feel like they’re full of things to dig into. We get gorgeous views beneath rotting logs, inside of a dog house, running down basement stairs, beneath beds and chairs, and tables, and even in the back seat of a car, all from Indy’s perspective. The human characters are often out of focus, with their faces obscured by the edge of the screen. It’s strange from our perspective because we’re humans and we want to be part of the dialogue, feeling like we’re there with them, but it works in the sense that it also makes them seem above us in a way. Like, their concerns are so different from our own when we’re standing next to Indy and understand just as much as he does (though we have the advantage of understanding human speech, unlike him).
This is coupled with the fact that each scene is composed differently depending on where we are in the movie. The scenes in the farmhouse are often enclosed, to the point of claustrophobia, with nooks and crannies in the scene just full of junk that a dog could reasonably explore. The woods are wide and bright, sometimes seeming washed out by billowing mist and smoke that obscure distant views from us. This enhances the shadows that one could potentially peer through. Even when we’re in other locales, such as a doctor’s office, an apartment, or a car, the scenes are composed and closed off, limiting our view to just Indy and whatever he’s focused on.
While “Good Boy” doesn’t have a dedicated cinematographer, Ben Leonberg did an excellent job with each shot, and the sound crew knew how to use silence as a tool to build suspense and tension in the scene.
Cast and Crew
This was undoubtedly a passion project, alright. While the film itself is only about 70 minutes (about an hour and 10 minutes), it took over 400 days to film. Because it was independently produced, it’s a relatively small film, both in terms of location and cast. However, the people they have working with them, they make full use of.
First off, the dog. Indy is the star of the film and stars as himself. As an actor, he’s perfectly suited for the role and does a great job of emoting on screen. I’m not sure what training the director and producer, Ben Leonberg, gave him, but every whine, every bark, every yip, and every sound Indy made on screen was authentically his. Not only that, but despite being an animal and thus, really not in command of body language like a human has, you can tell his emotional state throughout the film: Or at least a facsimile of one, given that behind the scenes, he looked like he was probably playing a very confusing game with his humans.
Either way, he was an effective PoV character.
The human characters—mostly Shane Jensen and Larry Fessenden—did a good job in their roles. Their actions, words, and dialogue were kept mainly in the background and out of focus (in fact, we don’t see Todd’s face for 80% of the movie); however, they delivered their lines well and helped provide quiet exposition to those paying attention.
Since this was independently produced on a small budget, the crew was relatively small, which is perfectly fine, as everything was well-executed. Ben Leonberg and Alex Cannon did well, and composer Sam Boase-Miller and sound designer Kelly Oostman created a world that was crisp and clear, as I’m sure all dogs hear, given that their senses are, in some ways, better than ours.
Overall, excellently done.
You’ll Like This If-
You like dogs, haunted houses, and bittersweet endings.
Horror rarely has happy endings; this is true. But there are horror media that can leave viewers pumped up, excited, frightened, and even possibly hopeful. This movie was not one of them. The ending is melancholic and somber, considering the film’s unique twist. It is one of those endings that leaves one petrified and internally squirming because it forces us to review our own mortal limitations.
For me, that is my favorite type of horror. I enjoy feeling a sense of existential dread at the end of something like that, and calling my parents to tell them about my day. The sort that sticks with me past the initial evening, well into the next day, or week, or month, flashing across my daily thoughts till eventually the spectre of the fear dissipates away.
If you enjoy movies that are slow-burning (odd, considering it’s barely over an hour long), that don’t hold your hand with exposition, and aren’t built on dialogue but rather scenery and implications, then you’ll likely appreciate this movie. It’s beautifully made, with a pretty dog as the main character.
You’ll Not Like This If-
You don’t like animals being put in bad situations.
Full disclosure: Indy is never in any real danger on and off the screen. The ending credits include a small featurette that shows the making of the film, revealing that Indy is filmed surrounded by people holding toys, treats, and other items. When he hits his cues or the scene ends, he gets showered in love, hugs, and pets. Onscreen, he’s never hurt aside from one small moment where the haunting spirit of the house picks him up (but it was a prop during filming), and most of the noises he makes are distressed noises towards Todd.
That’s really the extent of Indy being harmed or anything bad.
However, there are other reasons why one would not like the film. For starters, it’s not exactly concrete in the story of what goes on. None of the characters will speak within eye level of the viewer, as we’re always in Indy’s PoV and at his level. Therefore, when two human characters are on screen, they often talk over Indy or in the background, forcing the viewer to tune in to hear them.
This makes it so you have to pay attention to the film to understand what is going on. If you’re the sort of person who puts on a movie and then gets distracted by your phone, snacks, or something else, then you’ll probably be lost throughout the film. Not only that, but there really aren’t as many thrilling scares in this as one would be led to believe.
The trailer suggests that something horrific is happening over the course of a night or two, featuring haunting and stalking scenes throughout the house; however, in reality, there are few, if any, jump scares. Instead, it’s a movie built on creeping dread and the pervasive feeling that something is not quite right. If that’s not your cup of tea when it comes to horror… well, this might not be a fun movie for you, especially if you’re susceptible to emotional pain, rather than just recoiling from something grotesque.
Personal Thoughts
It’s honestly hard to put into words what I feel.
It’s a good movie, that is for sure. It is unique, and Ben Leonberg and Alex Cannon make full use of the concept. What truly caught me off guard was that this was, at its core, not a haunted-house movie but an actual character study of the effects of loss and grief on a creature that cannot fully comprehend what that means.
As stated earlier, the film’s trailer implies it is a stereotypical haunted-house flick, but from the perspective of a Dog. There are horror concepts in it, of course. There’s a ghost, there’s some terror that haunts the premise, but there’s more to it than that. In truth, it’s a horror tragedy where the subtle steps of the ghosts, the flickering shadows, and the hissing, wet, guttural gurgles from the basement are more metaphors than indications of an actual hostile entity. There is a hostile entity in the house, but it’s not the true monster that lurks there.
I’ll not spoil it more than that, though. It’s obvious when you’re watching it what it’ll mean. Just know that this is a horror story that leaves you sighing, leaning back in your seat, and wiping your face rather than leaving you stunned, shivering, and shaken. I’m a personal fan of that sort of horror: In fact, that’s predominantly what I write with my fiction stories when not writing for Lefthand Path Press.
I think that’s why I resonate with the story very well and why I enjoyed it as much as I did. Yes, the cinematography was impressive, and it made excellent use of silence, sound, and things we don’t typically see, but that dogs do, to convey the story. Yes, the pacing was tightly compacted and told what it needed to in its 70-minute runtime. In the end, what really resonated with me the most was the things that were unsaid, the things that were done, and the things that could have been, all from the perspective of a character/animal that cannot have the power to change or influence his surroundings and had to make do with what he had.
In the end, Indy was, indeed, a good boy.
So, this is a film that I greatly enjoyed picking apart scene by scene, but one I don’t think I can share with friends and family who also enjoy horror movies. This isn’t a fun one where I’d sit to the side, grinning deviously while those who implicitly trust me traumatize themselves for my enjoyment, and we laugh about it afterwards. I’m willing to inflict a weekend’s worth of nightmares on my loved ones, but not haunting emotional damage. If there’s going to be one person with wet eyes somberly turning on the lights with an empty popcorn bucket, it might as well just be me.
If You Liked This, You’ll Also Like
I honestly cannot think of anything similar to what this movie was. I’ve often said that there are no more unique ideas in horror, and it’s about how well the concepts are presented that make a piece of horror media worth checking out. This time, I was proven wrong on that.
Part of the problem is that in “Good Boy“, Indy didn’t talk at all. He conveyed emotion through whining, barking, tail wags, and other distressing dog noises, but he never uttered a word. In most media that features animals, they communicate primarily through words rather than body language, and that’s a convention designed to make it easier for us, the viewers, to understand the story.
Worse yet, the more we anthropomorphize animals in body language or even in character design, the more they become human, moving from anthros to straight-up furries (Yes, I’m a werewolf; I understand the hypocrisy).
Still, I’ll look through my library to suggest something at least.
Movies and Shows
- – Watership Down
- – Homeward Bound
Unfortunately, I cannot find much. When it does star an animal in horror films, it is always the antagonist, not the protagonist. Most movies that star animals as the protagonist tend to be children’s movies—hence why “Homeward Bound” is included—but I feel that defeats the purpose of a website devoted to horror content, providing reviews of other horror content.
Video Games
- – Farewell North (2024)
- – Stray (2022)
- – Rainworld (2017)
- – Lost Ember (2019)
Books and Comics
- – Beasts of Burden (Graphic Novel)
- – Animal Castle (Graphic Novel)
Sadly, that’s all I got for you today. Not that I hadn’t tried, between my personal library and asking fellow werewolves and other friends for suggestions.
Final Words
No matter whether you see this film or not, be sure to hug your pets. They won’t understand why, but that’s alright. They’re good, no matter what.
In the end, that’s what really matters. We bring them into our lives to enrich them, and in turn, we do our best to care for them because they’re unable to understand our motivations. They don’t understand the same concepts we do and are unable to grasp the same fears, uncertainties, worries, and doubts. To them, we’re the ones in charge with all the answers. But what happens when we’re not? What sort of anxieties and worries do they get when things happen beyond their understanding?
Unfortunately, they’ll never be able to tell us directly, but perhaps this movie will bridge that gap a little and help us understand, from their perspective, what is truly terrifying and frightening.
