Ben Leonberg’s debut feature Good Boy zeros in on the most anxiety enducing character of every supernatural horror movie….the family dog. Celebrating its World Premiere at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival, and staring Leonberg’s own dog in the starring role, Good Boy is shot entirely from the POV of a dog sensing and experiencing the supernatural presence threatening to overtake his owner. It’s an ingenious angle for an overworked subgenre, and one that delivers in spades thanks to its adorable lead, and brilliant direction & editing that really sets the story directly in a dog’s world.
If you’ve ever caught your own pets staring into the corner of an empty room or suddenly freaking out at some invisible intruder, Good Boy is either going to be a bundle of relatable spooky fun, or your worst fears confirmed. And just like your own possibly-in-touch-with-the-spirit-realm pets, Indy (played by the real-life Indy, who also attended the premiere in Austin like the movie star he is!) has begun no notice some alarming irregularities with his best friend & owner, Todd (Shane Jensen). Shortly after moving into his grandfather’s country home for some R&R following a recent hospitalization, Todd is plagued by a malevolent entity that only Indy seems capable of sensing. With no one else to turn to and no one to call for help, it’s up to Indy to defend his Todd and take a bite out the grim specter looming over them both.
“Good Boy is either going to be a bundle of relatable spooky fun, or your worst fears confirmed.”
Good Boy lays out all the familiar tropes of a modern supernatural horror flick. We’ve got visions of foreboding evil, desperate pleas from the past in spooky nightmares, ominous shadows lurking in every room. But because we’re with Indy this whole time, those nightmares are his! And those haunting visions are his own! He even communicates with the ghost of another dog!! This ghost dog, who’s own human (Todd’s grandfather, played by Larry Fessenden) was victim of the same evil energy, shows Indy the gravity of the situation, and essential fills the necessary role of all supernatural Horror Movies that Nightmare on Film Street’s Kimberley Elizabeth coined “The Second Act Library”. You know, the place where the lead goes to get a download of info on what they’re up against and how they can save the day. But to have this all communicated through dogs?! DOGS THAT CAN ACT??!!? Unheard of.
It’s important to note that; 1) When I say that the movie is shot from Indy’s POV, I don’t just mean we’re following a dog with no rhyme or reason, or simply strapping a GoPro on his collar and piecing together useable footage like a cute Instagram reel. Indy is the driving force of each scene and how we investigate a noise, or strange object is framed around how Indy experiences it. Rather than Todd perking up at something down the hall, and his dog running off to investigate, it’s Indy who perks up. It’s Indy‘s face we see slowly peer around a corner. And its Indy ‘s shoulder we’re shooting over during a conversation to indicate perspective.
“Indy, the dog, is the driving force of each scene and how we investigate a noise, or strange object is framed around how Indy experiences it”
Which brings us to point 2) Indy is not an actor. This movie is the result of lengthy shoots, clever camerawork and imaginative directing on the part of Leonberg. Getting specific “performances” from Indy was about as easy as you’d expect, and with the story relying almost exclusively on this one dog, it meant writing around Indy’s own personality, his natural curiosity, and his daily routine. It’s a project that (I’m sure) required patient, creative commitment and hot damn! did it ever paid off.
Good Boy gets hung up on the same familiar beats of so many modern paranormal horrors but it’s a way into the story is so unique and so charming. Sure, it’s a pretty by-the-book supernatural metaphor about genetic disorders but through the eyes of a character you’ve never seen on screen this way before. The performance Leonberg is able to coax out of his family dog, and the scare sequences that he crafts in collaboration with an actor he can’t coach is independent moviemaking magic. It also, deliberately or inadvertently, makes every scene infinitely more suspenseful, because no one wants to watch a dog get hurt. Good Boy is a creative achievement, and cute little horror flick with effective scares, and a reminder that dogs are called Man’s Best Friend because we don’t deserve the unshakable loyalty of a companion that would literally fight a demon for us.
“Independent moviemaking magic [ …] a creative achievement!”
Ben Leonberg’s Good Boy celebrated its World Premiere at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival. Click HERE to follow our continued coverage of the festival and share all your pet photos with us in The Official Nightmare on Film Street Discord! Bonus points if they’re wearing cute lil Halloween costumes.
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