Have you ever seen your dog stare into the darkness, growling and barking at nothing, and wondered to yourself–does he see something I can’t? Independent film ‘Good Boy’ presents the horror genre in an entirely new perspective, with its adorable protagonist, Indy the dog.
Having initially premiered in film fests back in the spring, ‘Good Boy’ hit theaters on Oct. 3, 2025, being the directorial debut of Ben Leonberg and distributed by Shudder and Independent Film Company. In the filmmaking industry today, widespread theater distribution of independent films is fairly uncommon. The vast majority never make it past festivals, but ‘Good Boy’ definitely stood out from the crowd.
‘Good Boy’ follows Indy (Indy) and his owner Todd (Shane Jensen) as they move into Todd’s grandfather’s abandoned house in the woods. Through sporadic noises, ominous imagery, and a creepy score, we learn that there’s something weirdly wrong in this house. However, Todd couldn’t be more oblivious to it. Outside of the audience, the only one who senses something is wrong is Indy.
‘Good Boy’ will make your blood run cold and five minutes later cause you to break out in tears. This poor dog doesn’t know what’s going on and whether or not he and his owner will be okay. It’s the ultimate version of horror films’ helpless protagonist shtick. ‘Good Boy’ is an allegory that explores themes of loss, trauma and abuse. The film might be triggering for those who have had similar experiences–be prepared.
After the credits of ‘Good Boy’, we’re treated with a behind the scenes look of the film. Indy didn’t even know he was in a movie. Interestingly enough, Indy isn’t a professionally trained animal actor. He’s actually director Ben Leonberg’s personal pet dog. This sequence very well may be the best part of the film, as it displays the techniques Leonberg used to make it seem like Indy was actually playing his character in the film without ever really acting. Stick to the end, it’s worth it.
In my review on Letterboxd, I said ‘Good Boy’ was the scariest movie I had ever seen. I stand by that. Even though the film is rated PG-13 and doesn’t have any violence or gore, ‘Good Boy’ made me the most anxious and stressed I have been in a long time. Because of its short run time of 73 minutes, there’s zero scenes with room to breathe. The movie is non-stop tension. Ihad a horrible time watching it. I was so scared that I screamed twice. I’ve never screamed at a movie before that. A great film completely immerses its viewer in its world, and that is exactly what ‘Good Boy’ did. Its world was terrifying and sorrowful. I gave the film a 9 out of 10, and put it fourth on my list of 2025 movies, right below ‘Thunderbolts’, ‘Weapons’, and ‘One Battle After Another’.
And yes, I know what you’re thinking. Does the dog die? I won’t tell you. Watch ‘Good Boy’ and find out.
