**This article contains spoilers for Good Boy**
Have you ever watched a horror movie and thought, “What happened to the dog?”
Ben Leonberg’s new film, Good Boy, gives audiences an inside look at what horror looks like through a dog’s eyes. Told entirely through the perspective of Indy, this movie’s canine lead, the film puts a major twist on the typical horror narrative. What unfolds is a suspenseful, visually striking experience that taps into a fear every dog owner can relate to: What does your dog see that you don’t?
context
Good Boy follows the journey of retriever Indy and his owner, Todd, as they move to a rural family home out in the woods. When the pair arrives, the terror begins with strange noises, shadows, and visions that only Indy seems to notice.
As time progresses throughout the film, so does a mysterious illness that has fallen upon Todd. As mysterious as it seems, Indy’s visions throughout the film, along with hints from a friendly neighbor’s comment, suggest that Todd’s grandfather once lived in that very home and passed in a manner unknown to the audience but known to the characters of this story. The film ends with the death of Todd, and Indy being found and saved from the sinister place.
The nature of the film is portrayed through a true canine perspective, a novel idea brought to life through the film’s details, fear factors, and the director’s notes.
Film details
One major detail that sets this film apart from other canine-led films is that we don’t hear Indy speak or share his thoughts in any way. We have no way to know what he’s truly thinking, feeling, or perceiving. This detail is important to the film because it shows audiences what a scary situation really is to a dog.
We can’t know their thoughts or feelings, and keeping that very real element in an otherwise surreal film really captures the isolating situation a dog in a horror movie would be in.
Other major details in the film include the use of angles, lighting, and audio. Throughout the film, as Indy is exploring and experiencing the events that occur, the camera is held at his eye level. The majority of the film was shot from this view, allowing audiences to watch from Indy’s point-of-view.
With lighting, throughout almost the entire film, human faces were kept in the dark. Hidden by the shadows or bright lights, we never see a man’s face until he faces death. This detail allows the film to stay focused on Indy as the main character, highlighting the unique twist on this otherwise average scary movie.
Lastly, the audio details in this film connected the bridge between canines and horror. With music, eerie beats were used to build suspense in scenes where we would’ve otherwise heard a human fill the space. Throughout the film, we hear Indy wince, bark, sniff, and react, giving the audience something to listen to when there are no words from Indy himself.
fear factor
So, what makes this film a horror movie? Most of the fear factors in this film are the jump scares and the constant buildup of suspense. Like many other horror films, there’s blood, but there wasn’t any excessive gore. Between the jump scares and the building suspense, I’d say this horror movie leans more toward the suspenseful thriller side.
director and film notes
Leonberg left a few behind-the-scenes clips as well as some notes for the audience at the end of the credits. He explained what it was like working with Indy, the science behind the audience’s reactions to Indy, and the foundation of the film.
Indy is Leonberg’s personal dog. When leaving a note for the audience, Leonberg emphasized that Indy didn’t understand that he was making a movie, he had no dog-acting training, and the process of creating it wasn’t scary for him despite how the final product looked. For example, to demonstrate how the scenes of Indy were filmed, a behind-the-scenes clip showed Leonberg waving a hat behind the camera and making quaking noises at Indy for a reaction.
The entire time I watched the movie, I felt so bad for Indy, thinking he looked scared in some scenes and distraught in others. I really thought I could see the emotions from Indy in every scene.
However, during Leonberg’s note at the end, he explained “the cool shot effect,” which, in this context, explains that the audience’s feelings about how Indy must be feeling are a result of his surroundings. Basically, we think Indy looks scared because he’s in a scary situation, but really, that was just his face reacting to whatever Leonberg was doing behind the camera.
When Leonberg was creating this film, he said it was built on the core anxiety that all dog owners can relate to. It’s the idea that they can see and hear things we can’t and know when something’s going on way before we do. This film gives us a never-before-seen look into what dogs see and experience right under our noses.
Good Boy final notes
As a horror movie connoisseur, this one is a must-see. It’s different from other horror movies in the sense that I didn’t think it was too scary, except for the jump scares that definitely made me jump, but I would say it’s one of my new favorites.
Between the interesting context, film details, fear factors, and final director’s note, this movie brought an unknown perspective to a familiar genre and absolutely killed it. And the best part is, the dog doesn’t die.
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