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“Good Boy,” Ben Leonberg’s feature directorial debut, tells the story of a haunted house from the perspective of a dog. That premise alone already makes it an unusual entry in the horror genre, but Leonberg takes it seriously enough to turn what could have been a gimmick into a bold creative choice.
Indy, played by the director’s real-life dog of the same name, moves to a remote family home with his owner. It doesn’t take long before he begins to sense that something isn’t right. The film keeps its focus entirely on Indy’s point of view, lowering the camera to his level and rarely showing human faces. This stylistic decision gives the movie a clear sense of perspective and keeps the dog at the center of every frame.
The result is a small but fascinating film that lives and dies by its lead. “Good Boy” would not work without Indy. What makes him compelling isn’t just obedience, but how naturally he fills the frame. You start to read meaning into his stillness, his tilts of the head, the way he listens to things we can’t hear. It’s easy to forget you’re watching an animal performing at all. Remove Indy from the picture, and what remains is a low-budget haunted-house film that offers little beyond its premise.
Leonberg deserves credit for knowing how to direct a dog in a way that feels intuitive and believable. His approach compensates for the film’s rough edges, grounding it in a visual language that’s consistent and intentional. The haunting itself carries clear allegorical weight, though it’s left deliberately vague. “Good Boy” feels like a film that invites discussion more than interpretation, one that can easily be dismissed by casual viewers for its slow-burn pacing, yet seems almost designed to provoke film critics who thrive on dissection.
At 73 minutes, “Good Boy” is practically short for a feature film, yet many of its filmmaking choices make it feel longer than it is. The slowed pacing, muted atmosphere, and limited perspective stretch out time in ways that test the viewer’s patience, but not without purpose. The flaws will be clear to human eyes, but that’s part of what makes the experiment work. The film commits so fully to seeing the world as a dog would -- attuned to sound, shadow, and stillness -- that you start to think maybe you have to be a dog to truly appreciate it.
“Good Boy” stays true to its experiment, confident that patience will reveal what spectacle never could. It’s less about the scares and more about the quiet bond it builds between the viewer and the dog. Even if you’re a cat person, you’ll know a good boy when you see one.