Good Boy

Good Boy
Starring Indy, Shane Jensen, Arielle Friedman, Larry Fessenden
Directed by Ben Leonberg

SPOILER ALERT: The dog does not die. 

Anyone who's ever owned an animal has had those moments - where your dog or cat will stare at an empty space, or bark or meow at nothing in particular. You don't know what they're seeing, but ultimately their goal is to protect their owner at any cost - by things both seen and unseen (at least when it comes to dogs, cats honestly don't GAF). That's why dog is man's best friend, because they look out for them, and protect them even at the cost of their own lives. The horror genre gets a bad rap sometimes due to its repetitive nature (such as the numerous sequels of "Friday the 13th," "Halloween," etc.) but they also put forth some of the most refreshing, original ideas as well. Recent years saw movies that centered on our biggest childhood fears ("Skinamarink"), what happens when unwitting people get involved in a conjuring over Zoom ("Host"), and what happens when you grab a mummified hand of a supposed psychic ("Talk to Me") - all of this showcases the originality that the horror genre provides that no other genre can. "Good Boy" is the goodest combination of the two: a movie about man's best friend who sees spirits in their home and sets out to protect its owner, shot entirely through the lens and story of the dog. 

Todd (Shane Jensen) has had Indy (Indy), a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, all his life, and the two have been inseparable, especially as Todd is enduring a medical crisis that Indy knows nothing about. When Todd relocates himself and Indy to his grandfather's isolated home after his death, Indy starts seeing spirits in the dark, and in particular a ghoul made of mud and bile that stalks the family. Indy tries everything he can to protect Todd, but as his condition grows worse, Indy resorts to drastic measures to keep his owner alive.

"Good Boy" is one of those rare films that grew by word of mouth alone, as I remember hearing about it several months ago and at first thinking it was fake - how could they make a movie solely from the dog's perspective in a haunted house? Well, to paraphrase Ian Malcolm from "Jurassic Park" they...uh...found a way. Through the impeccable, excellent, undeniably perfect performance by Indy, "Good Boy" manages to not just make you nervous and jittery from the jump, but also hit you directly in the feels and leaves you emotionally spent. At first, the movie was supposed to get a very limited release, but due to the intense advertising from people hearing about the movie, it garnered a wide release and on its opening weekend debuted at number nine (not too shabby for an independent horror), earning a little under three million dollars on a budget of 2.5 mil, so it already made its costs back the first weekend.

The movie is shot from Indy's perspective, so we get a lot of visuals from the ground, and most notably this shows us what the dog sees that we don't: namely, we don't see the faces of anyone in the film. Each face is blurred or beyond our line of vision, which adds to the mystique of the movie. It also makes it more intense as we don't get a full picture of the events around us, making us more paranoid as to what will be waiting for us as Indy turns another corner. The scares are well thought out and earned, as we're given a character we root for from the get-go - and even non-dog lovers can't deny Indy's charisma and cuteness.

Yet more than a horror movie, "Good Boy" is about the bond between Indy and Todd, and the ups and downs the two endure together. We know something is wrong with Todd, and Indy knows too - but like Indy, we don't know the severity nor the actual condition. Is Todd just going through something that antibiotics can solve, or is there something more life-altering than that? It's a mystery that raises the stakes as Indy defends Todd from the spirits in the home that threaten his life, as well as Indy's himself. Seeing how they interact and connect will bring any person with a heart to tears, and how fiercely Indy protects Todd is equally tear-inducing. Basically, bring a box of tissues, because you'll need them.

The concept of this film came from director Ben Leonberg, who spent three years working with Indy (his real-life dog) and wife - along with a skeleton crew of people - to bring the film to life. At any moment things could've fallen apart, but it all worked perfectly. More than a cash grab, this was a labor of love for the Leonbergs and Indy himself, who had no special training whatsoever for the role (at the end of the credits there's an amazing mini-documentary where Leonberg showed the audience how it all came together, and it's equal parts hilarious and impressive). You'd swear Indy was a classically trained dog with how well he emoted through his expressions, how he managed to sit through the frightening scenes and take part in the action required of him. Jokingly he wrote to the Academy saying they need to include a category for animal actors, but in all reality he deserves an Oscar for his exemplary performance.

Showing the true talent for horror, "Good Boy" is a heartfelt, passion project spanning three years of blood, sweat and tears to be brought to the big screen, and the end effect is a star-making performance from Indy who shows he's not a good boy - he's a great boy.

The Score: A+