As a horror movie lover, I have always had two (ahem) pet peeves when it comes to tropes in the genre. First, I loathe protagonists who are fools, the kinds of idiots who continually place themselves in danger throughout the story and lose our empathy. No wonder people started cheering on Jason and Freddy; their victims were such unworthy foils. And two, I will often walk out of a frightener or turn off the rental if a family pet is harmed or killed due to some immature filmmaker’s insensitivity. Such a tact is an unimaginative crutch and as both a cat and dog enthusiast, I despise how some movies view pets as props, not family members worthy of our investment. The better horror films create worthy characters to care about, be they man or beast.
And here now is GOOD BOY – a smart, new horror film that gives us a strong protagonist and a lovable animal character rolled into one. That’s right, the lead in writer/director Ben Leonberg’s frightener is the family dog. It’s all about his perspective of the ghoulish goings-on in a haunted old house out in the country, and it makes for one of the more intriguing and disturbing scary movies this year.
Indy is the loving and loyal retriever belonging to Todd (Shane Jensen), a fragile man who has just gotten out of the hospital. Todd’s ailment is not stated, but it’s serious and the coughing, weakened 30something male is not quite 100%. No matter to Indy; he’s ever so thankful his master has been released, as is Todd’s sister Vera (Arielle Freeman). Soon however, Vera starts to fret about Todd’s mental health as well as when he decides to relocate to the isolated and dilapidated country house once owned by their grandfather. Gramps died under mysterious circumstances, and as Todd arrives at night to move into the home with Indy in tow, it’s clear that this is primal real estate.
The blithe Todd tromps all over the run-down place with his dog but Indy feels uneasy from the start. He wants to stay away from the makeshift graveyard on the property, one that holds various relatives who died rather early in life. Indy has that keen canine instinct for danger, though Todd pays little attention to what’s in front of him, let alone what’s behind him. He misses various mysterious shadows moving across walls, not to mention glowing eyes that are very interested in his movements. To further paint matters as too early for the sick Todd to return to the regular or irregular world for that matter, he traipses around the cluttered, creepy place, not even turning on lights or staying out of the downpour in their midst. Worst of all, Todd ignores the plaintive noises coming from his much more nervous pooch.
What makes all this quite compelling is the focus is entirely on Indy. We never get a good read on Todd’s face and never see any human character in their entirety. This is horror from the dog’s perspective and it makes for a novel approach to things that go bump in the night. Secondly, Leonberg is clearly showcasing a human lead who resembles many of those less than shrewd protagonists that the likes of Jason and Freddy have gone after, clearly siding with Indy as the smartest soul in the piece. We give Todd some rope as he’s operating under physical duress, but when he misses all that Indy is perceiving and trying to alert him to, we start to lose patience with the human.
Still, the focus on the dog, and the superb performance that Director Leonberg has gotten out of his pet Indy (same name!) is quite an accomplishment. Through the range of reactions and varied physical movements of Indy, the filmmakers keep our interest in his taut, 73-minute film. As we worry about the fate of Indy and Todd, the film ratchets up the dread and the ghoulishness, and we start to fret whether the dog can break through to his distracted owner. Ultimately, we start to lose sympathies with Todd, even getting mad at him for dragging his poor pooch into such a predicament.
But even when the third act turns predictable, we keep invested as we root for Indy. He is a worthy hero, and the dog gives a star performance. Indy is not just a good boy; he’s a terrific actor.
