Love, Loyalty, and a Good Boy. A film that understands that dogs are heroes.

Image of Indy in Good Boy (2025) courtesy of Vertigo Releasing

Good Boy (2025) is the feature debut of director and writer Ben Leonberg, and this is a film that is going to have a lasting impression on those who watch it, and on filmmakers in the horror scene.

The protagonist of our film is the dog Indy, loyal companion of Todd, and the story revolves around Indy dealing with the supernatural presence that attaches itself to Todd. When I went into this film I was legitimately worried that it may be nothing more than a gimmick idea that hinges on the premise of "a ghost story from the POV of the dog", but I was pleasantly surprised. Good Boy (2025) is a strong story of love, perseverance, and the willingness to protect those who matter to us.

I am not alone in being one of many fans of horror films who can watch the most brutal and gory deaths of humans and barely blink an eye, but if the family pet is harmed or does not survive a film, I will be unconsolable for weeks. I have two family dogs, Shih Tzu's named Hansel and Gretel, siblings that we rescued over a year ago now. I also had my first family dog Olly, also a Shih Tzu, who was 14 when he died in December 2023. I mention my dogs because I think that any dog owner going into Good Boy (2025), will feel extra tension throughout because you will see your own dog in Indy's performance. This is a film that understands both how nervous people feel about the family pet in a horror film, and the bond between human and dog.

Indy gives a captivating performance throughout the film, every moment he is on screen, you believe every emotion that he is experiencing. The moments when Indy shows fear, my heart was in my throat because of how real it felt. Indy may never speak, but he does not need dialogue for the viewer to understand what he is going through. The film in general relies very light on dialogue as a whole, and this never feels noticeable. While watching this film I was so engrossed in the story because of how much I was caring about Indy, that I was pulled into every moment of every scene. I always say that a film that never has been tempted to look at my phone is a great film, and Good Boy (2025) passed that litmus test with flying colours. Ben Leonberg has hit the sweet spot with his film, and I have a strong feeling this will be amass a strong following of fans.

It has been interesting following the social media promotion for this film, as every comment section will be inundated with people saying "I need to know if the dog dies", which I think highlights the difficult challenge that the makers of this film have faced. I know I am not alone in being utterly unconsolable when a family pet does not survive a horror film, while in contrast barely blinking when human characters are the ones put in peril. This phenomenon of having more empathy for the animal characters than the human ones had led to the website doesthedogdie.com existing. Leonberg has done a great job at being aware of this phenomenon and tapping into it with genuine care. This is not a film that is trying to defeat the audience, it is one which is reaching out with a gentle hand and offering a caring embrace, through the power of a dog's loyalty and affection. This is a film made by someone who loves his dog dearly, and is made for people who know what it means to feel a dog's love.

I do not want to go into too much plot detail because I think this film has a great story with strong themes that should be experienced unspoiled, but I will say that I think this film does a fantastic job of being an allegory for what a dog might possibly be experiencing when their human changes, either because of mood swings, illness, or anything that makes the dog notice odd behavioural changes.

I have been watching a lot of interviews with Ben Leonberg going into detail of how they made the film, and how they got such a strong performance from Indy, and getting that peak behind the curtain has been wonderful. I think a lot of people who watch this film will feel worried for Indy because of how believable his terror is, but those interviews with Ben are worth watching because they really help illuminate that nothing negative happened to Indy on set. I urge anyone who is concerned about Indy surviving this film to be brave and watch this when it hits theatres, the sound design will be worth experiencing with the big screen.

Good Boy (2025) will be in Irish and UK Cinemas from 10th October courtesy of Vertigo Releasing.