Review by Jon Donnis
Ben Leonberg's Good Boy might sound like a gimmick on paper. A horror film told almost entirely through the perspective of a dog could have easily collapsed under its own novelty. Instead, what Leonberg achieves in his feature debut is something quietly extraordinary, a supernatural story that's tense, affecting and completely unlike anything else released this year.
At a brisk one hour and thirteen minutes, the film wastes no time. We follow Indy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, and his owner Todd (Shane Jensen) as they leave behind city life for a decaying family home deep in the woods. From the moment Indy pads across the warped floorboards, the mood turns. The house creaks, shadows shift, and Indy seems to sense something we can't quite see. It's a clever use of perspective. The camera stays low, close to Indy, so we experience the story not from his literal point of view but from his constant presence. Every reaction, hesitation and movement becomes the emotional core of the film.
Leonberg shows remarkable restraint in never anthropomorphising Indy. There's no inner voice, no attempt to humanise him beyond what we can naturally read in his body language. The audience projects emotion onto him, which is part of what makes Good Boy so unsettling. His confusion and loyalty to Todd are heartbreaking, especially as Todd's health declines and the house's sinister presence begins to tighten its grip. By the time Todd's coughing worsens and he turns aggressive towards the dog he loves, the story starts to feel painfully real.
Indy's performance is astonishing. Whether credit lies with patient direction, sharp editing or pure animal intuition, it's hard not to be drawn to every twitch of his ears and flicker of his eyes. There's a tragic intelligence in the way he senses danger long before the humans do. It gives the film a slow, inevitable dread that builds until the final act.
Leonberg's direction is lean and inventive. The cinematography keeps to earthy tones and muted light, giving the house a sickly atmosphere. The score hums quietly beneath scenes rather than announcing scares, letting tension creep up instead of bursting out. There's a wonderful sequence where Indy explores the cellar and discovers the skeleton of the previous dog, Bandit. It's eerie and tender at once, more a moment of recognition than fright.
Still, Good Boy isn't flawless. Some viewers will inevitably find the concept too strange or even distancing. Without a human protagonist to anchor the emotional beats, parts of the story can feel slightly detached. The dialogue between Todd and his sister Vera (Arielle Friedman) occasionally tips into exposition, breaking the spell of realism that Leonberg otherwise maintains. And while the short runtime keeps things taut, a few scenes could have breathed a little more to deepen Todd's decline and the growing bond between him and Indy.
Those quibbles aside, Good Boy stands as one of the most original and haunting horror films of the year. It understands the power of simplicity and perspective. By trusting the audience to empathise with a dog rather than explain his feelings, Leonberg turns what might have been a novelty into a surprisingly profound meditation on loyalty and loss.
It's rare to see a debut this confident and this strange. Good Boy may be small in scale, but it lingers long after its closing shot. Indy proves that sometimes, seeing horror through the eyes of an animal reveals more about humanity than most films ever dare.
Rating: 9/10, A bold, moving, and genuinely unsettling original.
Out Now - https://apple.co/46SKkr4
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