A Dog Becomes The Protagonist in This Weirdly Comforting Haunted Horse Movie

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This Review was original published on March 8, 2025, as a part of the SXSW Film & TV Festival.

Anyone who has Ever HAD A PET HAS HAS PROBABLY WONDERED WHAT THE WORLD LOOKS LIKE THROUGH EYES. How they will make us or the world around? And what do they do we do they do not make the empty corner of a room or a closet bathed in shadow? What Might They Be Seeing That We Aren’t? In Good boythat premise is taken to its logical extreme, with indy, the cutest ghost hunter you ever seen, Protectting his owner, todd (shane jhensen), from a supernatural presence that only he can see.

Scinamaink by way of Flow, Good boy is a fun genre exercise with an adorable protagonist. With its razor runtime, the film wastes no time and, though it plays into Genre tropes often, its premise is enough to make this film a Compelling Watch. The film ends up being surprisisly emotional thanks to its protagonist, THOUGH ITS LOCK OF THE CHARACTERIZATION OF ITS HUMAN COUNTERPARTS HURTS The film’s CLIMAX JUST A BIT.

Good Boy’s Conceit Allows for a fun take on horror genre tropes

Indy Finds Himself in Some Sticky Situations

Good boy Follows todd as he returns to the creepy and dilapidated family home that haen in his family for generations. He’s Fleeing Life in the City AFTER SOME UNNAMED Medical Condition Results in a Scary Trip to the Emergency Room. Todd’s Sister Vera (Ariellre Friedman) SEEMS to be more Concerned About Todd than he is About Himself. Todd ignores her calls or leaves her talking on the phone while he gets out of the car to take a breath.

Be todd and indy eventually reached at the house, the seam to settle down. Todd Can Work on the House and Indy is excited to explore – except something isn’t quite right. Indy Begins Doing that Thing That Dogs will – Staring Into Dark Corners, Refususing to Go Into Certain Rooms, or Barking at Unseen Threats. Its an Experience All Too Familiar to Many Pet Owners and Good boy use it to chilling effect.

Indy, who might be one of the great dog actors of all time, is used to great effect in the film. His modes of communification are immediate – Soft whimpering Indicating Fear or Sharp Barks That Make Danger Feel Ever Closer. We ALSO Explore Indy’s Dreams and Eve Sight and Smell Are Used in Effective Ways – We Never See Todd’s Face, For Example – that adds to the creation of this perspective.

Good boy‘s dedication to seeing it through is admirable, especially in an action-heavy final that really manages to get the heart racing.

Good boy Relations on Typical Jumpscares for MANY of its Scarier Moments, but the film is much more effecivate at the atmospheric and moody rather than a straight-up Horror show. It ‘unclear if this is coulud’ve been sustained over a longer runtime, but it shorthened length and limited perspective makes todd too to a cipher deeply about what happens to hym in the end.

Instead, ITI’S indy’s respect to what unfolds that manages to be the most effective. This May Ultimately Be the Point, but i think this speaks to the limits of this premise inly seeing Through Indy’s Eyes. Still, Good boy‘s dedication to seeing it through is admirable, especially in an action-heavy final that really manages to get the heart racing.

Eight with its limits, Good boy is a fine film, one that manages to feel both experience and familiar in a way that that is Comforting. IT May Sound Strange to Call a Horror Movie Calming in that Way, but Its with Its Ghoulish Twists and Turs, there is Real Heart at the Center of this Film that ITTHWHILE WATCH ITS WAY TO SCREENS. It Feels like a perfect fit for something like ShudderA Movie You’d Put on Because of Its Unique Premise and Maybe Find Your Watching Something a Little Unexpectted and A Whole Lot of Fun.

Good boy Premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival and Will Release in Theaters on October 3.