Good Boy review: The dog performance of the year
Move over, Messi, there’s a new dog in town! Every so often, a canine performance blows everyone away. In 2023, that dog was Messi in Anatomy of a Fall, and this year, it’s Indy in the independent horror Good Boy.
The supernatural horror tells the haunted house story from Indy’s perspective as he and his owner, Todd (Shane Jansen), move to his late grandfather’s abandoned home in the woods, which has not been lived in for years. Indy senses something in the house and tries to protect his very sick owner from these perceived supernatural forces.
I’m surprised that nobody’s thought of doing a haunted house film from a dog’s point of view before because it makes perfect sense. Dogs are more sensitive to noise and often like to investigate them; they are frequently left home alone with nothing to do, and they hear things that humans don’t. Indy goes off and explores every corner of the creepy place and often stares into dark spaces, sensing that something’s there. It freaked me out, waiting for something to emerge from the darkness.
Indy, the real-life dog of director/co-writer Ben Leonberg, is so impressive. He has a lot to do physically, but he’s also just so emotionally expressive. He says so much with his eyes and looks legitimately scared and alarmed at times. It really tugged on my heartstrings when he whined in fear or because he missed his owner. Indy – a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever – is a gorgeous dog and a very good actor.
To maintain the dog’s perspective, the camera often stays at his height and follows him around the house. It’s a technical feat, and it must have been painstaking work to shoot a film starring a real dog, with no help from CGI or animal doubles. To further his POV, we don’t generally see the faces of any of the humans; we just hear them talking to Indy or having phone calls with other people. However, the audio for Todd often felt like a voiceover recorded at a separate time instead of happening naturally within the scene.
Horror fans may be disappointed though. While there’s a creepy, ominous atmosphere and I worried for the dog, the film isn’t scary. Leonberg could have pushed the horror a bit more, perhaps dropping in a couple of jump scares for good measure.
While the horror may be underwhelming, the dog’s perspective puts a fresh spin on the well-trodden haunted house story, and Indy proves himself to be a breakout star.
In cinemas from Friday 10th October