Hey everyone and welcome to a brand new review! For this one, I will be discussing a new high concept horror film that has gotten quite a bit of buzz due to its unique premise. Good Boy is the latest scare flick from IFC entertainment who have really carved a niche for distributing low budget horror films that have interesting concepts (Late Night With the Devil, In a Violent Nature, etc.). It involves showing the events of the horror going down from the perspective from a dog, which immediately piques my interest as that is a corker of an idea that has a lot of potential. Was this able to capitalize on that potential? Let’s jump right in and see what tricks this dog has up its sleeve!
Viewed from the the POV of a dog named Indy, we see his owner, Todd, suffering from a chronic lung disease which leads him to move from New York City to his grandfather’s abandoned home in the woods. Despite the worries of his sister Vera, who thinks the house is haunted and played a role in their grandfather’s death, Todd goes ahead with this plan anyway with Indy in tow. Once there, Indy’s starts to feel a dark presence lurking around and soon comes to realize that not is all it seems in this house.
The idea of getting to see what a basic horror premise would look like from the eyes of a dog is inherently interesting and provides plenty of opportunities for some creative results. Thankfully, I feel that director, Ben Leonberg, was able to craft something that mostly delivered on its promises. One can tell that he and his co writer, Alex Cannon, had a lot of fun coming up with the various scenarios that Indy experiences and how they would look like to a canine. They are smart to not overstretch this premise as the film runs a tight 73 minutes counting credits and it doesn’t feel like the welcome is being overstayed at all. As simple as the story is, it still manages to be effective in what it is going for as the relationship between Indy and Todd is efficiently established in the beginning where we see just enough to make it all the more tragic when things start going wrong for Todd.
Yes, the film isn’t exactly covering new ground for horror films in the themes it is tackling related to generational trauma and how it gets passed down in a vicious, only hurting those who refuse to confront it. But its still well done enough (it essentially functions as a better version of this year’s Wolf Man in that regard) and the aspect of seeing how our protagonist is basically helpless and not being able to anything to stop the inevitable adds a heartbreaking element that reflects how it feels to watch a loved one suffer and not being able to do much to stop it. That only adds to the emotional throughline and makes the film more than just an experiment. That being said, the movie still very much functions in that vein and perhaps maybe would’ve been better served as a short as the film does fall into a quickly recognizable pattern of going from one fright scene involving the dog to the next and it does make one realize the limits this premise does have. That and the script is serviceable if not the most dynamic, but given how effective the film is when there is no dialogue it is not a huge issue for me. That being said, the ending does pack a punch emotionally and is excellently executed in a way that powerfully conveys what movie is going for and makes the ride worth it.
It is also to the filmmaker’s credit that the various sequences we get are very effective and successfully get one into the mind of this dog. Leonberg does a wonderful job of building up a creepy atmosphere that is present even before we get to the house and can really give one chills in the best moments. Our limited field of view is also helpful in making the proceedings even spookier as there’s often a sense of claustrophobia that permeates the film, especially when we’re in closed spaces, giving the feeling that Indy is trapped and helpless to do anything about this apparition haunting the house. How that ghost is portrayed is very well done with various different techniques (even what looks to be claymation at one point) used to showcase it in ways that take advantage of it’s dark and monstrous shape with there being some really solid jump scares involving it and the space it takes. Lighting is also used extremely well with shadows helping in creating an eerie sensation where something could pop up at any moment and there are some truly striking shots that are lingered on just the right amount of time in order to avoid feeling like they’re just filling up time. It’s clear that the team was able to do a lot with the limited amount of resources they were given and it pays off quite nicely watching everything unfold.
It helps that we have a very adorable main character at the center of it all, with Indy the dog really showing himself to be a front runner for best actor at the Oscars. Jokes (?) aside, he really is a good boy indeed, making one sympathize with him immediately and I really admired all the work that was done with him. After the credits, there’s a behind the scenes segment showcasing how they were able to create the illusion of Indy acting and how they had to work around the fact that he was just a normally trained dog, often taking a while to get a good take. It payed off though as they were able to make Indy into a fully realized character who has such an expressive face, making his fears and concerns all the more noticeable. It’s quite haunting to watch this symbol of innocence undergo this terror, and whenever he whimpers it is felt immensely.
When it comes to the human cast, while we don’t get to see their faces most of the time, a clever creative choice that serves to make us feel the dog’s perspective, they get the job done. Shane Jenson does a decent job portraying Todd’s descent into madness as one is both scared for Indy due to what he is becoming and also sad for him as a guy who cares for his dog and means well, but just gets corrupted by an unstoppable evil. When never really see his face so Jenson’s voice has to do a lot of the heavy lifting and he is able to succeed in doing the job. There’s isn’t too much to him as a character, but he works for what the story is providing and the bond between him and Indy is well defined for me to care. Plus, there is one VERY well done jump scare involving us seeing his face and it is absolutely chilling in execution and a great example of catching the audience off guard. The rest of the very small cast mostly are just there to fill out certain roles like Arielle Friedman as the concerned sister and Stuart Rudin as Richard, the neighbor with a fox catching hobby, but the real focus is understandably our boy Indy.
In conclusion, I found Good Boy to be a very solid haunted house movie told in an interesting way. I wouldn’t say it’s quite as crazy as the hype seems to have making it out to be as is very simple, might’ve benefitted from being a short, has a familiar pattern, and treads familiar ground. However it is still an effective horror film that handles it’s themes well and compellingly, doesn’t overstay its welcome, has some nicely done scare sequences, and has a wonderful canine protagonist at the heart of it all. May not be the scariest movie I’ve ever seen (like some have claimed it to be), but I do highly recommend it for horror fans that want something more experimental and for those who want to make a movie, this is a great example to look at in terms of how to use what one has and in terms of what filmmaking techniques can be used in order to create certain illusions. I hope the word spreads on this as it is very well done feature that makes me hope that the people behind it do more work in the future. Good Boy is indeed a… well you know.
Rating: B+
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