Reel Review From SXSW 2025: Good Boy Examines Grief Through the Eyes of a Dog
Indy, a loyal dog, moves to a rural house with his owner Todd. Suffering with an undetermined cancer diagnosis, Indy tries to comfort Todd through his pain. However, in this new home a dark supernatural force is lurking in the shadows. Unseen by Todd, Indy tries to protect his human against the dark entities and save his companion.
If you are an animal lover and an indie horror fan, this movie is made for you! First of all, Indy is the cutest and most well behaved dog actor I have ever seen. He is so expressive with just subtle movements that you can feel what he’s thinking.
A lot of this movie didn’t wow me at first. About half way through, things started to drag a bit or feel repetitive. However, they really stuck the landing. Confirmed by the director at the post-viewing Q&A, he wanted to make a movie all about when your pets seem to see something in the dark corners that you can’t or bark when there’s nothing there. This is technically a horror movie, but to me it leaner more thriller. No jump scares or crazy gore here!
The entire film is executed from the eyes of Indy. This is apparent from the low camera work and lack of showing the actors’ faces. You see their bodies and hear their voices, but never really see their faces because from the perspective of a dog, they’re usually looking at your feat. This technique really allows audiences to fall into this character and view the world as he does.
For much of the movie, Indy is doing typical dog things along with Todd, his companion. Running outside, napping, and eating. However, once the duo move into the new home, Indy picks up on some questionable oddities. A supernatural force seems to follow him, but Todd doesn’t notice. Indy does his best to protect his owner from the unknown force. As Todd’s health declines, the supernatural entity gets stronger.
In the end, Todd passes away duo to his illness and Indy is left alone. Todd’s sister comes to rescue Indy and take him home. The entire film is a view of death from a dog’s point of view. They may try to help their human companions, but usually they can’t. Indy was a stellar leading dog who shot the movie over 400 days. Fueled by treats and bribes, his performance was well earned.
One of the most tender but also sad moments was from when director Ben Leonberg disclosed the reasoning behind the entity’s look. The supernatural spirit comes at Indy in a wet, muddy, and dark manner as if he had just crawled out of the ground. Leonberg shared that he chose this design as an ode to how he believes pets, especially dogs view death. When animals know they’re sick and going to die, they tend to find dark, cold, wet places to pass. This is reflected in the spirit, as their view of the grim reaper is more reminiscent of a cold and dark place.
Good Boy might not be the ultimate tale of loss and grief, but it is a special look at death from a different point of view.
