Review: Good Boy – “The dog deserves a better movie.”

The horror film from the dog’s POV high concept, a great poster, and an even better trailer had everyone straining at the leash to see Good Boy a few months ago, but now it’s here – does it live up to the hype?

Starring Shane Jensen (A Day in the Lifeless), horror legend Larry Fessenden (Maxxxine), and, of course, Indy the dog in his screen debut, Good Boy is written by Alex Cannon (Natural Causes) and Ben Leonberg (the short Bears Discover Fire), and directed by Leonberg.

With both his mental and physical health clearly in decline, Todd (Jensen) holes up in the abandoned house of his grandfather (Fessenden), with his loyal dog, Indy.

While Indy explores and is jump-scared by all manner of shadows, whisperings, and gunge-y black demons, Jensen coughs up blood and treats his dog increasingly poorly.

Surprisingly very poorly, by the way. We aren’t wimps, but we were both a bit taken aback at how badly poor Indy gets treated by his owner. Which makes Indy’s attempts to save him from A) his unnamed illness, B) his possible possession by whatever also maybe nobbled his grandad (Fessenden), C) all of the above, sad when they should be thrilling.

Indy is excellent, and his emotive eyes, good looks, and bravery make it a wonder that nobody has ever tried this before. It is just a shame that the film Indy finds himself breaking ground in is actually sub-par horror.

Nothing really hangs together, it all feels disjointed, it feels like a first draft that was meant to be gone back to to fill in the gaps. Fessenden features in some barely seen old videotapes that get played, but doesn’t get to lend his talent and charisma towards improving things. Which is especially needed with the human lead being so darn unlikeable.

The ‘is it a metaphor or not’ is copped out on so much that you are left begging for Indy to have got to star in a more straightforward, well-done, actually structured horror film, instead of having to dig his way through a messy and unfulfilling story.

Good Boy will be in US cinemas on 3rd October and then UK cinemas from 10th October.