Pets sensing supernatural threats before humans is a time-tested horror trope. In The Conjuring (2013), we’re clued in on the unsettling events to come when the Perron family dog, Sadie, refuses to enter the new farmhouse. Similarly, the dogs at the Antarctic outpost are the first to sense the shape-shifting life form in John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982). These instances usually start with a pet staring intently at an empty corner at night, or barking at something that evades human senses.
Ben Leonberg captures this sense of foreboding in his haunted horror flick, Good Boy, which is framed entirely from the perspective of Indy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. Indy’s expressive eyes constantly perceive shadowy threats no one else can see, which lends to a high-concept scary movie worth checking out. The good news is, you can now watch this unconventional, emotionally resonant horror on Hulu.
It took three years for Leonberg to film Good Boy. Co-writing the script with Alex Cannon, Leonberg worked closely with his dog Indy to bring this off-kilter story to life. The premise is simple, at least at first: Indy moves with his owner, Todd (Shane Jensen), from New York City to a secluded rural home in the woods. The house belongs to Todd’s grandfather, who died there under mysterious circumstances, with his golden retriever, Bandit, who is missing to this day. Todd suffers from chronic lung disease, and an atmosphere of dread looms even before the hauntings begin.
Every shot is low-angled enough to keep Indy in frame, which allows us to filter the experience from his unique perspective. Todd’s face, although visible, remains distant due to his height — we mostly see parts of his hands and hear his loud voice the same way Indy perceives his owner. One would think such a gimmick would lose its novelty after the first half hour, but Good Boy makes taut use of its central conceit to create a deeply moving horror experience. It’s natural to worry about Indy’s well-being from start to finish, and this imminent danger alone makes every supernatural contact scarier than traditional ones. When Indy experiences horrifying visions or is attacked by a dark presence, the fear evoked is visceral due to his inability to communicate.
Morality becomes an intriguing concept in Good Boy. A traditional horror protagonist can be as flawed or morally dubious as they come. This plays into the expected trope of horror movie characters making dumb decisions that lead directly to their demise or put others in danger.
Take Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) from Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell (2009). Irrespective of whether you think Christine deserved her eventual fate, her actions (namely, refusing to help an old woman who’s behind on her mortgage and suffering from a curse as a result) remain deeply human as they stem from a sense of self-preservation. Morality can (and should) be assigned to Christine’s actions, which makes her attempts to reverse the curse engaging, as you’re never sure whether to root for or against the character.
By contrast, Indy’s case in Good Boy is far less complicated. None of Indy’s actions can be framed as mistakes or judged via any metric, as the title already assigns him a moral leaning. He’s just a good boy doing his utmost in an impossibly scary situation where his owner is in deep peril.
Despite his intelligence, Indy is incapable of understanding complex human motivations outside of binaries. The audience feels frustrated by Todd’s inability to sense supernatural danger (among other flaws), but Indy remains steadfast due to his unflinching loyalty. Human characters may change on a dime or turn on each other when backed against a wall, but a sweet dog like Indy will comfort his owner even when his life is at stake.
Leonberg also makes excellent use of the dark in Good Boy, where lamps and low-intensity light sources trick our minds and prod our imaginations. This, combined with Indy’s acute sense of sound, creates a disorienting horror experience that you won’t forget anytime soon. You might also be pleasantly surprised by the film’s sweet emotional core, which serves to heighten the ambitious roots of Good Boy.
Good Boy can be streamed on Hulu.
