Written and directed by Ben Leonberg, co-written by Alex Cannon, A loyal dog moves to a rural family home with his owner, only to discover supernatural forces lurking in the shadows. As dark entities threaten his human companion, the brave pup must fight to protect the one he loves most. Starring: Indy, Shane Jensen, Larry Fessenden, Arielle Friedman and Stuart Rudin.
Skipping the obvious standout element of Good Boy for a moment and digging into the rest of its style and story, it surprisingly feels like a good homage to classic horror despite its inherent modern style. The direction hits time and time again quintessential notes of horror cinema, particularly that of pre-1990. The atmosphere Ben Leonberg feels nostalgic, its eeriness and the ominous tone feel like great old-school supernatural and possession horror. Leonberg builds his new format around an archetypal foundation of horror, which was a clever move.
It allows him to have a strong base to then become creative around, without losing the overall tone and intentions of the film. Bringing Good Boy to audiences from the perspective of its four-legged star was a great piece of very accessible originality. Films like Skinamarink in recent years have worked outside the norms but occasionally find themselves alienating audiences, asking for a rather large amount patience and investment. Whereas Leonberg found a way to do something different, while giving viewers an additional reason to dig into this story. Who could possibly not invest in a character played by such an adorable, talented dog? It’s a no-brainer. The way the shots are obscured to fit within that perspective works really well.
That doesn’t mean it’s not without its issues, there are also disadvantages to its originality, mostly in that the story is fairly limited. There isn’t far for it to go, it does create a followable plot but one that moves slowly and surely, which won’t work for everyone. Granted, they did make the smart move to keep the runtime short coming in at under seventy-five minutes, it feels unlikely Good Boy could have sustained itself much longer and is arguably stretching itself a little thin even at that runtime. The quality of the shots is also not entirely consistent, some are strong, and there’s some great colouring work, but others can feel somewhat average.
Good Boy is another great addition to the modern class of horror, bringing a fresh perspective in canine form, grounding and focusing the film in a new way. It’s original and entertaining, the talent of Indy is undeniable, being able to genuinely lead the film is sincerely impressive, he even outshines his human counterparts. It can feel a touch repetitive or slow at times, and the aesthetic isn’t as consistent as hoped, it misses some sharpness in points, but you can’t help but to admire the creativity of it.
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