If you have been listening to our podcasts, you know that I have placed Good Boy at the top of my most anticipated horror movies of 2025. I am a sucker for horror movies featuring canines, and Good Boy impressed the hell out of me. Indy is the charismatic lead protagonist of this film. The humans are the supporting cast, and we have been spared any ersatz animal voice-overs or animals behaving like humans. No horror movie- heck, maybe any movie regardless of genre- has a more honest depiction of dog behavior while centering the entire story around them.

A cell phone has been ringing in an apartment, where a worried Indy lies on a couch, allowing it to ring… because he’s a dog. He can’t answer the phone. Neither can his master, Todd, who is having seizures. Vera enters the apartment, aghast at Todd’s condition, and rushes him to the hospital.

When we next see Todd and Indy, they are taking possession of Todd’s grandfather’s home, which has been abandoned since he passed away under mysterious circumstances. The dilapidated house is without power, but Todd is fortunate that his neighbor remembers him from Todd’s childhood. His neighbor gives Todd a spare generator so they can have a little light and enough power to watch Grandpa on old home videos.

Indy senses there is something wrong in the house. The audience is made aware of the potential curse in the house from a phone conversation between Todd and Vera, but of course, Indy will have no concept of this curse. He smells something is off, and he can hear the remnants of occupants past, and some shadows drift in and out of the corners. As Todd’s conditions worsen, he is oblivious to the danger closing in. Indy tries his best, but his owner’s physical, mental, and emotional state dissolves, and he is extraordinarily vulnerable to the curse put upon the house and the family.

The dog does his absolute best to try and save Todd, but can he rescue his master before the dark forces overwhelm him?

It took Leonberg three years and 400 days to achieve what is a monumental passion project. In an age of digital animals in movies, Good Boy is an honest and tangible effort that radiates from the screen. Indy is charisma personified and is radiates supreme pet vibes. You root so hard for Indy. All the limitations of a dog are present here, but the film does everything it can to let you see and feel what Indy perceives.

Nothing here is cheap. Everything is earned. There are no cloying attempts to anthropomorphize Indy. They let the dog be the dog, and we get to be on the ride-along program with Indy. The directorial choices are subtle and tremendously effective.

The movie isn’t perfect, though. I think the backstory of the curse could have been better illustrated in the videos of Larry Fessenden. The motivations of the ghost aren’t clear, and the nature of the curse is rather ambiguous. Perhaps I will understand the situation better upon a second viewing, but that background could have been a bit better fleshed out. While Indy is about as easy a character to root for in a horror movie, Todd is a bit prickly. He represents damaged goods and makes poor decisions, so he is not easy to connect with.

I admit to being biased. I am a dog owner, and I love dog movies. However, this also makes me critical of the proper use of dogs in a horror film. This is the Colossus of dog horror movie achievements. Indy is not a dog trained to be an actor, save for his work on this movie. Getting the performance out of Indy was a trial of patience, but it also suggests great intelligence for this retriever.

Good Boy is a special movie. Because of the power imbalance between a specter and a dog, the dread builds throughout the film, offering some excellent scares. Audience members in my theater cried. This movie will put you into the wringer, particularly if you are a dog lover. At one key moment, I said aloud, “Oh, don’t you DARE!” Self consciousness be damned, I was invested in Indy.

I have placed Indy at the top of my Horror Movie Dogs We Love Dead list, surpassing Jed from The Thing and Cujo. Indy operates on a wholly different doggy level. Good Boy is intense, but it would be suitable for younger horror fans. The movie has not received an MPAA rating yet, and apart from some foul language, it could receive a PG-13 rating. Though not very violent or gory, it is very intense. There are high emotional stakes in this movie. It was also very early in the festival circuit, and the movie has not yet received a distribution package, though Ben Leonberg believes he is close to getting a deal done.

Note that there is also a 2023 horror movie called Good Boy, which involves a creepy guy dressed up like a dog. THAT IS A DIFFERENT MOVIE. Ensure you check out the correct one when eventually looking for it streaming.

We will let you all know when the movie receives a release date. Good Boy had its world premiere at SXSW, and was part of the programming at the Overlook Film Festival.

Good Boy, Indy. Such a good boy.

Here is the audio interview I had with Ben Leonberg discussing Good Boy: