GOOD BOY

(director/writer: Ben Leonberg; screenwriter: Alex Cannon; cinematographer: Ben Leonberg; editor: Ben Leonberg; music: Sam Boase-Miller; cast: Indy (Indy), Shane Jensen (Todd), Arielle Friedman (Vera, Todd’s sister), Stuart Rudin (Richard), Larry Fessenden (Grandpa); Runtime: 73; MPAA Rating: PG-13; producers: Kari Fischer, Ben Leonberg; IFC/Shudder; 2025)

“A low-budget atmospheric canine horror pic.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A low-budget atmospheric canine horror pic directed by Ben Leonberg (“Bears Discover Fire”) and co-written by him and Alex Cannon. The film’s star is Indy, a male Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. This is Leonberg’s own dog he trained for three years with his wife, the film’s producer Kari Fischer. The pic is told from the dog’s POV.

The mentally ill Todd (Shane Jensen) moves into the isolated country cabin of his deceased grandfather (Larry Fessenden) with his dog Indy, who picks up the scent of something supernatural coming from the cellar.

Scares come with strange figures popping up in the shadows, indicating we’re in a haunted house. Through videotapes left behind we see what happened to the grandfather. Dialogue and plot is at a minimum. The dog’s a charmer.

It played at the SXSW Film Festival.

REVIEWED ON 12/5/2025  GRADE: B
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