The film debuted at the SXSW festival in March 2025, receiving applause and standing out for its originality.
It is often said that current cinema is dominated by superhero films (which are no longer as successful as they were), sequels, remakes and adaptations of stories that have already been successful in other media. It is a reality, but it is also true that there is still room for originality and that space curiously occurs mostly within the horror genre.
Recent movies like The Substance, Sinners and Pearlor even for a few years now Hereditary, Midsommar, The Witch and Get Out They can give an account of an alternative approach in cinema.
Horror is not just a succession of scares (at least not in its best version) it is a space for innovation. In the case of good boywhich arrives this Thursday in Argentine cinemas, we can see something different, something innovative. The film directed by Ben Leonberg (his first film), has surprised after its premiere at international festivals for its unique proposal: a supernatural story told from the perspective of a dog.
What Good Boy is about
The film follows Indy, a dog who begins to perceive supernatural presences in an old rural house where he lives with his owner, Todd (Shane Jensen). After a family tragedy, Todd moves with Indy to what was his grandfather’s house, an isolated house in the middle of the countryside. There, the dog detects signals that its owner cannot perceive. Without being able to communicate with words, the dog must face evil forces to protect its owner.
Although it is a story of few words and with some flaws, the visual feat of being able to genuinely convey what the dog is feeling and experiencing is worth applauding. Indy’s performance truly transcends the screen and sustains the film.
It is known that animals have a special hook in the cinema, in fact, after seeing the trailer of the film, something that greatly worried the public was whether the Nova Scotia retriever survived or not. Obviously that’s important, but not the most important thing of all. With successes and errors, Good Boy proposes something different, redefining some classic horror tropes.
The inspiration behind Good Boy
The idea came about after Leonberg reviewed the film Poltergeistwhere the dog detects the paranormal before humans: “It’s a cliché in many movies that the dog knows something is happening before the family does, and I thought, ‘Someone should make a horror movie from the dog’s perspective.’.”
The filmmaker (and Indy’s owner) made it clear that he wanted 100% natural reactions: “This is not Air Bud or Lassie, where the dog is always happy and acts for food. My goal was for Indy to behave like a real dog, without voice-over or abstract thought, just instinct and reaction.”
Good Boy hits theaters on October 23. Directed by Ben Leonberg. Cast: Indy (the dog), Shane Jensen, Arielle Friedman, Larry Fessenden, Stuart Rudin and Anya Krawcheck. Distributed by: BF Paris.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
