Bad things happen to dogs in horror movies. They get neglected until they die (The Lodge), they’re pulled offscreen by demons (Paranormal Activity 2), disemboweled by witches in the forest (The Witch), or subjected to experiments by mad scientists (The Fly II). Human villains kill them to show us all how evil they are (Cape Fear), or sometimes even the hero kills them (Dead Calm, I Am Legend). That’s not even counting the ones where docile dogs suddenly turn vicious and have to be put down (Cujo, Signs, The Little Stranger, When Evil Lurks).
Ben Leonberg’s most unusual horror film Good Boy aims to counter all that by telling the story from the dog’s point of view. At its worst, the movie still functions well enough to provide proof of concept that such a premise can work. At its best, it provides scares beyond what most Hollywood horror movies do.
At the beginning, Indy is a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever who has moved to a remote mountain cabin with his human Todd (Shane Jensen). Unfortunately, Todd has cancer and frequently has to leave Indy alone at the house for hours while he undergoes chemotherapy, which changes his body scent so that Indy does not recognize him. Even when Todd is at home, he’s too sick to notice — much less do anything about — the weird noises that Indy hears coming from the cellar. Soon Indy starts seeing apparitions of Todd’s deceased grandpa (Larry Fessenden) and the grandfather’s vanished golden retriever.
The movie stars Leonberg’s own dog, who is named Indy in real life too. The only time we get a clear look at any human being’s face is when Todd sits up in bed and a mysterious man covered in mud wraps a chain around his neck. That being also appears to Indy when he’s chained up in the front yard, and when he seeks shelter in his doghouse, he finds that monsters are hiding even in that small place. Leonberg pulls a cool trick when Todd watches old videotapes of his grandfather and the golden, and both the old man and the dog on the tape appear to be reacting to something that Indy sees in the room. The cabin does not have electricity, so the light inside comes from portable lamps powered by a not-100 percent-reliable generator, which adds to the atmosphere. If the scares take a long time to kick in, the film only runs 73 minutes so that you’re not kept waiting too long.
Then, too, the film has more on its mind than just capturing a dog’s perspective. The monsters haunting the cabin spring from Indy’s fears of losing his master, and the story comes to a head only when the dog realizes that he’s as powerless as anyone to save Todd from his cancer. In light of that, Todd’s last words to Indy — “You have to stay here, boy” — take on a rare power. Of all the movies I’ve seen that were told from the dog’s point of view, Good Boy is one of the few that followed me home after I left the auditorium.
Good Boy
Starring Indy and Shane Jensen. Directed by Ben Leonberg. Written by Alex Cannon and Ben Leonberg. Rated PG-13.
