Good Boy, directed by Ben Leonberg, hits all the right buttons when it comes to telling a scary story that could literally be an urban legend. I went into the screening knowing what everyone else knew: It’s a horror film shot from the dog’s perspective. But what makes Leonberg a smart cookie is that the dog’s perspective is not first-person, but third-person, so the audience can see everything. Not even 5 minutes in, and I felt like Indy was my dog, and the emotional roller coaster I was on was quite cathartic.
There is some CGI that HAD to be utilized, but I assure you, the lead dog, Indy, is very real and has belonged to director Leonberg since puppyhood. Because Indy wasn’t a trained animal actor (something I was very surprised to learn) the film took 400 days to shoot, with the final result being something beautiful, with a sparse yet effective score enhancing the film much more than you'd expect.
What you need to know is this:
Indy’s owner, Todd (Shane Jensen), has a chronic lung disease, and after another life-threatening stay in the hospital, he decides to take Indy and leave the city for rural upstate New York, to live in his deceased grandfather’s cabin. Todd’s sister Vera (Arielle Friedman) tries to talk him out of it (to no avail) as she’s 99.99% sure it’s haunted and hates that he’s there alone,
From the get-go, Indy feels like they are not alone, and once his thoughts are proven true, things drastically change for both Todd and Indy. When they run into their grandfather’s longtime neighbor, Richard, he mentions that Grandfather’s dog, Bandit, disappeared after his death. Todd finds a box of old VHS tapes that belonged to his Grandfather (Larry Fessenden), a mix of classic films and video journals of what he’s experiencing in the cabin…things that start to mirror what’s happening with Todd and Indy, but only Indy notices it.
As Todd becomes sicker, he turns aggressive toward Indy and Vera (who checks in by phone) and acts oddly when in an altered state. While these things happen, Indy is there to either break him out of his trance or protect him from whatever is out there. As things become more and more intense, Indy is there with the sole purpose of protecting Todd from the evil entities.
What you won’t get is any backstory about the cabin or past inhabitants outside of what Todd learns from Richard and his Grandfather’s VHS tapes. If I tell you anything else, it’ll ruin it for you. It’s a tight 73 minutes from start to finish, and every single one of those minutes (including the end credits) are utilized to mess with your emotions.
Because Indy is not a trained actor, I paid so much more attention to him and what must be going on in his head. He is riveting. There were times I wanted to reach through the screen to save him or just to give him pets. I found myself saying “GOOD BOY” several times throughout the screening,
Lookit, for me…EVERYTHING about Good Boy works. And because I have two “good boys” of my own at home, I never realized how many times I say “Good boy” to them in a day. When I got home, they both got steak for dinner with a giant “Who’s my GOOD BOYS,” my voice still shaky from all the crying I’d done throughout while thinking about how much I love my dogs. Even if you don’t own a dog, Good Boy is definitely going to mess with your emotions, and that’s okay. Don’t be afraid to sniffle, as there were plenty of men at my screening who were sniffling alongside me.
As it’s rated PG-13, I would urge parents go see it first before taking the kids, and if you do take them, be ready to have a couple of conversations on the way home.
We don’t deserve dogs, but they chose us, and I thank them every day for the privilege. On your way home from the movie, be sure to buy your dogs (cats too) their favorite fast food treat or Pup Cup - as you’ll become a Stage 5 clinger. Soon as I got home, I hugged my Chihuahua and Boston Terrier and sobbed for a couple of minutes, glad to be home with my boys.
Good Boy is rated PG-13 and opens nationwide today.
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