By John Corrado
Good Boy, director Ben Leonberg’s new supernatural horror movie, has been gaining buzz for the uniqueness of its premise; it’s a haunted house movie shown from the perspective of a pet dog.
The canine in question is Indy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. Indy’s loyal owner is Todd (Shane Jensen), who has recovered from a severe illness. Todd’s sister Vera (Arielle Friedman) worries about him, frequently checking in through phone calls.
Their grandfather (Larry Fessenden) has recently passed away, and Todd goes to stay at his old house in the woods, bringing Indy along. But the house seems to be haunted, something that the dog picks up on early, and tries to warn his person about.
This is the basic premise for the film, which mainly exists as a showcase for its canine star, as Leonberg plays around with showing everything from the dog’s eye view. While not a direct POV film since Indy himself is almost always in the shot (though there are a few moments seen through his eyes), cinematographer Wade Grebnoel shoots everything from his eye-level, which gives the film a unique aesthetic.
It’s a solid gimmick that is credibly well-executed, but even at a scant 73 minutes, the relatively simple story can feel a bit stretched thin. We do wonder if this concept might’ve worked better as a short. The vagueness of the narrative at times, and relative flatness of the human characters (and performances), hold the film back from reaching its full potential.
But, Good Boy features an excellent canine performance from Indy, who happens to be the filmmaker’s own dog. Yes, working with an animal performer obviously presents a whole set of challenges, but the naturalism and emotion that Leonberg draws out of his pet in any given scene – with no sense of anthropomorphism or CGI enhancements – is genuinely impressive.
As a pure horror movie, Good Boy is not exactly scary. But Leonberg is going for something more atmospheric and maybe even tragic. The most surprising aspect of Good Boy is probably how he ultimately tugs at the heartstrings in his portrait of the bond between humans and pets, as man’s best friend navigates a traumatic situation.
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