Review: ‘Good Boy’ to become a modern classic

If horror films have taught us anything, it’s that you always trust your pets when it comes to the supernatural. Films like Paranormal Activity 2 and The Conjuring feature dogs warning their humans that there’s danger afoot. Filmmaker Ben Leonberg takes it a step further and puts the audience directly into the perspective of his dog, Indy. It’s an innovative approach that busts genre expectations and opens genre filmmaking to a whole new way of doing things. You may even wonder: Why didn’t this happen sooner?

With a script co-written with Alex Cannon, the story follows Indy and his human Todd (Shane Jensen) after they travel to the middle of the woods. Todd’s been having a difficult time, and he’s convinced he needs to head out to his late grandfather’s (Larry Fessenden) dilapidated house. The secluded home provides a welcome refuge to escape the hustle and bustle of his life and recharge following a recent accident. But even before they leave his apartment, Indy suspects something floating in the air around him in the pitch blackness.

When they arrive at the remote location, things only get progressively worse. Indy’s intuitive nature proves ineffective in warning Todd about the figure lurking in the shadows; as is often the case in horror movies, he brushes off Indy’s warnings. The unknown entity grows in strength, burrowing itself deep within Todd, who begins exhibiting strange behavior. It’s something we’ve seen before, but with a new vantage point, it feels fresh and exciting again. For his leading role, Indy is such an incredibly expressive dog that you feel every ounce of his confusion and fear.

Good Boy contains expert cinematography and sees Leonberg tinkering with light and shadow, appropriately off-kilter camera angles, and a suffocating visual dread and atmosphere. The film’s claustrophobic feeling presses upon the audience with crushing weight. As it all vaults to the finish line, Leonberg builds a natural crescendo that’s earned and pays off tremendously. Dark forces close ranks around Indy, to a frightening degree, keeping the viewer always on the edge of their seat. If you’re anxious about whether Indy lives or dies, might I suggest checking out Does the Dog Die?.

Leonberg and Cannon craft a captivatingly eerie story that has all the hallmarks of becoming a classic. An impassioned, Oscar-worthy lead performer? Check. Creepy, tension-building camera work? Double check. A thrilling finale that elicits nothing but pure terror? Triple check. In a year when horror has been delivering top-notch stories (Sinners, Weapons, etc.), Good Boy arrives this Friday (October 3) as another special release we’ll be talking about for years to come.