As I write this, there are two dogs in my house. The first is Gambol, our elder statesman. He’s friendly in a reserved way, as if a traditional Republican from the Northeast were reincarnated into the body of a canine. If you were to walk into the house, Gambol would almost certainly let you pet him briefly, before plopping himself down among the humans.

The second is Nutmeg. We learned at the Humane Society that, as a small puppy, he’d been attacked by other dogs. That trauma left deep psychological scars, and informed how he reacts to others. If you’re outside our family, or more accurately, pack, he won’t let you pet him. Not for a good while. It took months before Nutmeg allowed my son’s girlfriend to pet him, and when the big event happened, it was only the briefest of touches. 

Within the family, Nutmeg is absurdly loving. Before bed, he’ll jump up to get good night petting from my wife & I. When the alarm goes off, he’ll come to my side & nudge me awake. We joke that he’s needy, but his love is real. So much so that, if a threat were to come into our home, I think Nutmeg would do what he could to protect us.* But what if the threat were beyond him, beyond death? That’s the premise of Good Boy, an innovative and heartbreaking horror movie firmly within the point of view of the dog. **

We’re introduced to Indy (Whose real name is Indy), an inquisitive and sweet Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. He lives in a city with his person, Todd (Shane Jensen). From puppyhood onwards, Todd is everything to Indy. They ride in the car together. Go on walks together. The life they have is perfect, and Indy never wants it to change.

Indy doesn’t know it, but life always changes. Something becomes wrong with Todd. His hacking coughs tell Indy that Todd is sick. He hears the concerned voice of Vera (Arielle Friedman) from Todd’s phone. He can’t understand what’s happening, why it’s happening. All he knows is that he needs to be where Todd is.

Indy and Todd leave the city, and during a dark and stormy night, they arrive at an isolated house in the woods. Indy doesn’t know it, but this house was left to Todd by his Grandpa (Larry Fessenden), a man who had his own beloved dog, Bandit, and who died under mysterious circumstances. They also meet Richard (Stuart Rudin), a neighbor who helps them out with a generator and offers them vague warnings. Todd doesn’t listen to the warnings, and Indy doesn’t understand them.

Very quickly, it becomes clear to Indy that something is off with this place. He stares at shadows. Barks at empty hallways. Smells odd odors. Whines as Todd slowly deteriorates. He loves Todd and wants to help, but he doesn’t know how. The only assistance he’ll get is from Bandit, who has come back with a warning. Indy is a good boy. Loyal. Brave. But he may not be enough to save Todd, or himself.

We should be clear up front that just because a movie is gimmicky, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie. The gimmick in Speed works, as does the gimmick in Groundhog Day. Director Ben Leonberg took a big swing with the gimmick in Good Boy, in which we stick with Indy’s POV through the entire film. How did Leonberg do that? Part of it was figuring out a way to position Indy in such a way that he’d look good on camera, then use that to elicit an emotion and tell the story. Part of it was figuring out things Indy would do anyway, build the set around him, then shoot the sequence.*** Due to his unorthodox approach, the film took three years to make. It’s largely successful, and nearly every camera angle is at approximately dog height. When it isn’t, there are good reasons. From a technical perspective, Leonberg’s direction is so skillful that it should be in this year’s Academy Award conversation. 

I can hear you saying, “It’s all well and good that Leonberg directed the hell out of the movie, but is the horror movie…y’know, scary?” Yes and no. It’s scary in the sense that an absurdly cute dog is on screen for nearly all of the film, and I didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. In terms of the usual horror tropes, there are a couple of jump scares. Leonberg mostly creates a feeling of unease, with inky black shadows, strange noises, and at one point, a gnarly looking hand that looks like it does not want to give Indy chin scritches. 

Leonberg wrote the script, and considering how committed he is to sticking to Indy’s POV, it’s kind of brilliant. We never really find out why Todd is sick, why he relocates to the house, or what exactly the fiendish thingy is that’s tormenting them. That’s a smart move. Since Indy wouldn’t understand those details, why get into it? The script has a laser focus on how much Indy loves Todd, and him doing what he can to help. It also effectively focuses on Indy’s emotional state while considering that a dog’s emotions are quite different from a human’s. 

While the performance aspect of the film is a little odd, it’s fascinating. As far as the human actors, the person who gets the most facial screentime is horror maestro Larry Fessenden as Grandpa. He only shows up in a few videos and a flashback. As far as the performance of Todd is concerned, much of it is physically Leonberg with his face obscured, and all the dialogue is dubbed in by Shane Jensen. With the performances of Indy and, to a lesser extent, Max playing the role of Bandit, they’re constructed through technical aspects.**** Does that really count as a performance? I think so. The end result is the same since, as we watch the movie, we have emotional reactions. I don’t think it matters that Indy had no idea he was acting in a movie, because the same thing happens with films that feature babies and very small children. Canny directors use technical tools and ingenuity at their disposal, and sometimes that makes more of an impact than an actor’s intentional performance.

Good Boy is one of the best films of the year. With a seventy-three minute runtime, it wrings everything it can out of the “dog in a haunted house” premise without overstaying its welcome. The film does so with craft, creativity, and a huge beating heart. I highly recommend this one, but when you watch it, keep your dog close by. You never know what they’re trying to tell you.

*It bears mentioning that we have cats. Would they protect us? Ah…the jury is still out on that one.

**This isn’t a spoiler, per se, but Leonberg did say in an interview that when he was developing Good Boy, his first priority was that Indy not die. You’re welcome. 

***You can learn more about how he pulled it off here.

****It got me wondering – suppose a spin-off was made called Good Girl, about a cat defending her person from unholy forces. Could the same technique work with a cat performer? I don’t think so, because cats have far less expressive faces than dogs.

Tim Brennan Movie Critic

Tim has been alarmingly enthusiastic about movies ever since childhood. He grew up in Boulder and, foolishly, left Colorado to study Communications in Washington State. Making matters worse, he moved to Connecticut after meeting his too-good-for-him wife. Drawn by the Rockies and a mild climate, he triumphantly returned and settled down back in Boulder County. He's written numerous screenplays, loves hiking, and embarrassed himself in front of Samuel L. Jackson. True story.