GOOD BOY

(director/writer: Ben Leonberg; screenwriter: Alex Cannon; cinematographer: Wade Grebnoel; editor: Curtis Roberts; music: Sam Boase-Miller; cast: Indy (Todd’s dog, a Nova Scotia Duck Retriever), Shane Jensen (Todd), Larry Fessenden (Grandpa), Arielle Friedman (Vera), Max (Grandpa’s Golden Retriever, named Bandit); Runtime: 73; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Kari Fischer, Ben Leonberg; streaming; 2025)

“High concept ghost story told from a dog’s viewpoint.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Ben Leonberg in his feature film debut directs and co-writes with Alex Cannon this modestly budgeted, high concept, ghost story told from a dog’s viewpoint. It’s a story about a dog named Indy, who has a sixth sense and is protective of his owner. Indy is the real-life dog of Leonberg, and is not an actor dog. The gimmicky film was shot over a period of three years.

Due to a medical condition, the dying young man Todd (Shane Jensen) moves out of his cramped NYC apartment and into the long-time abandoned family country cabin in the woods he inherited from his deceased Grandpa (Larry Fessenden). Meanwhile Todd’s sister Vera (Arielle Friedman) is alarmed that it’s a “cursed and haunted house,” where no one can stay there for long without facing some kind of tragedy. But the ailing and wheezing Todd is unaware of anything wrong in the house, even if Indy is aware there’s someone else present and is dangerously lurking in the shadows.

Todd plays his home videos of Indy as a pup, as we get to know the dog better and see why he’s a ‘good boy.’

When Todd relocates to the cabin, strange occurrences such as flickering lights, the sudden appearance of giant footsteps, creaking sounds in the walls, and the appearances of ghosts take place. We see them in blurred vision as probably how the gentle dog sees them.

The story makes us appreciate Indy and his loyalty and bond to Todd, and what the dog must be going through experiencing these unusual nightmare sightings.

Aside from its goofy haunted house story and its noteworthy scares, the slight film turns out to be also  an impressive meditation on death.

It played at the SXSW Film Festival.

REVIEWED ON 5/7/2025  GRADE: B
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