A loyal dog moves to a rural family home with his owner, only to discover supernatural forces lurking in the shadows. A film by Ben Leonberg, starring Indy, Shane Jensen, Arielle Friedman, Larry Fessenden, Stuart Rudin, Hunter Goetz, Anya Krawcheck, and Bandit.
GOOD BOY
Ben Leonberg
(2025)
Indy shares an apartment with his owner, Todd (Shane Jensen). One day, Todd, who has a terminal illness, loses consciousness. When his sister Vera (Arielle Friedman) tries calling him, there’s no answer. Concerned, Vera comes over and uses her spare key to get in. When she finds Todd unconscious and not breathing, she quickly calls for an ambulance.
After being discharged from the hospital, Todd decides to move into his late grandfather’s house. Arriving on a rainy night, he receives a call from Vera, who’s upset after finding his apartment empty. Todd explains that he needed to leave the city and asks if she remembers where their grandpa kept the spare gate key. Frustrated, Vera tells him that given his condition, he has no business traveling to a remote area like this. As Todd talks to her outside the car, Indy sees a shadowy figure behind the rear window.
Todd finds the gate key, allowing him and Indy to get inside the abandoned house. Soon after, Vera calls again, deeply concerned about him staying in what she calls the cursed family house. She’s upset about his recklessness and says he’s not thinking clearly. Todd brushes off her worries, telling her that’s not how he remembers it. During their conversation, Vera hears a dog barking and asks if it’s Indy. Todd explains it’s Bandit, their grandpa’s dog, from an old home movie he’s watching.
While Todd doesn’t seem to notice anything unusual about the house, Indy starts experiencing strange things. He hears sighs and catches glimpses of shadows whenever lightning strikes. Following the sound of creaking, Indy goes upstairs to a room where he sees a shadowy figure standing in the corner. He keeps his eyes fixed on it until Todd comes to find him, and the figure suddenly vanishes.
The next day, Todd and Indy head to a nearby cemetery in the woods, where they encounter their old neighbor, Mr. Downs. He warns Todd to watch his step since it’s fox hunting season and he’s placed traps and snares throughout the area. Mr. Downs seems surprised to hear that Todd is staying at the house, and mentions the circumstances of how Todd’s grandpa died there.
He sees what you can't.
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A film by Ben Leonberg, starring Indy, Shane Jensen, Arielle Friedman, Larry Fessenden, Stuart Rudin, Hunter Goetz, Anya Krawcheck, and Bandit.
When Todd says he plans to fix up the house and stay for a while, Mr. Downs offers him an old generator he doesn’t use anymore. He tells Todd he can stop by his place down the hill to pick it up. Mr. Downs then mentions that when they discovered Todd’s grandpa’s body, Bandit was nowhere to be found.
After picking up the generator, Vera calls again and asks if Todd has noticed anything odd about Indy’s behavior lately, like staring at nothing or sniffing around for something that isn’t there. Todd tells her there’s nothing to worry about, pointing out that she’s just describing normal dog behavior and that Indy is fine.
That night, Indy falls asleep and dreams of a dog wearing a red bandana, staring at a dark hole in the basement wall. Suddenly, a shadowy figure emerges from the hole and charges toward the dog. Indy wakes up and notices the same dog in several polaroid photos nearby. It becomes clear that the dog in his dream was Bandit.
Directed by American filmmaker Ben Leonberg in his directorial debut from a screenplay he co-wrote with Alex Cannon, GOOD BOY is a supernatural horror film following a dog who moves with his owner to an abandoned house in the woods and discovers that it’s haunted by a malevolent entity.
Personally, I love the clever narrative told from a dog’s perspective. Indy delivers a captivating performance without any voiceover or explanation, which keeps everything ambiguous about the mysterious entity in the house. I admit that Todd’s character is actually scarier than the shadowy evil entity. His erratic behavior is often creepy and unsettling. I kept thinking maybe Todd is already dead but doesn’t realize it yet, since his death seems imminent. It feels like just a matter of time.
There are a few notable jumpscare scenes, but they become less effective as the story goes on. While Indy’s presence is compelling and watching him react to the unknown feels natural, the main story struggles to find its footing. It builds on ambiguity rather than a solid foundation. As it progresses, the movie starts to feel like a series of nightmares and jumpscares that don’t really explain anything and eventually become repetitive. They keep piling on horror elements, but there’s not much substance behind them. It leans more on atmosphere than actual story.
What the filmmakers achieved is impressive. The movie grossed over $8 million on a $750,000 budget. Ben Leonberg is definitely a filmmaker to watch for whatever he does next, and hopefully we’ll see Indy again in a future film.
GOOD BOY premiered at SXSW on 8 March 2025. It was theatrically released in the United States on 3 October. The film is scheduled to premiere on Shudder on 21 November.
