Good Boy: Good Horror. When Your Dog Barks at ‘Nothing,’ Believe It!
By John Kirk
Rating: A-
If you’ve ever been a dog owner and you’ve ever been nervous about what’s out there in the shadows, then more than likely, you’ve appreciated the company of a good dog by your side.
Good Boy gives you that feeling when you’re watching it, and quite frankly, there were a couple of times when I reached for my own dog to give her a reassuring scratch behind the ears.
Oh, the reassurance was meant for me, make no mistake about it.
Here's the official synopsis:
“Our canine hero, Indy, finds himself on a new adventure with his human owner — and best friend — Todd, leaving city life for a long vacant family home in the country. From the start, two things are abundantly clear: Indy is wary of the creepy old house, and his affection for Todd is unwavering.
“After moving in, Indy is immediately vexed by empty corners, tracks an invisible presence only he can see, perceives phantasmagoric warnings from a long-dead dog, and is haunted by visions of the previous occupant’s grim death. When Todd begins succumbing to the dark forces swirling around the house, Indy must battle a malevolence intent on dragging his beloved Todd into the afterlife.”
The only criticism that can be offered to this film is there are some parts that drag a bit. But, when you consider that there is virtually no dialogue, the entire film is seen from the perspective of Indy, it’s actually understandable. Otherwise, it’s a perfect horror film, and definitely should be on a Halloween watch list for this October.
The first few minutes of the film feature old home movies, showing Indy’s puppy days and how much of a loving and loyal companion Indy has been to Todd (Shane Jensen). Immediately, the audience falls in love with Indy.
Of course, when the audience further learns that Todd is deathly ill with some unidentified ailment, they also see how important Indy is in the relationship, And in a horror story, the value of our hero needs to be established from the start. Not only is Indy our storyteller, but he’s our hero in this story.
Indy is also a lot more than that though. When Todd makes the decision to stay in the countryside at his grandfather’s old house, he invites the disapproval of his sister, Vera (Arielle Friedman) who has rescued Todd from medical episodes in the past and knows that he will be further away in case he needs her. While also highlighting one of the typical dumb decisions made in horror stories, this also underlines how important Indy’s role is in the country: Indy is the only one who will be able to keep an eye on Todd.
There is a predictability to this story. Of course, the audience is expecting that only Indy will be able to see what Todd can’t. But that isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it gives the audience what they expect and with that buy-in, we are eager to see what happens next.
What happens next is a series of events that only Indy – and the audience – can see, and that not only unites the viewer with Indy but increases the fear factor even more.
That’s awesome. The viewer is scared because there is only so much Indy can do. But locked into that perspective, the audience is forced to go along for the ride and the scare factor is increased because they effectively have dog senses.
There aren’t a lot of budget requirements for dog senses. No special effects or camera techniques. It does involve a lot of time though, and to my understanding it took about three years of coaxing and coaching Indy to move or react in a certain way. But, not only does this show the dedication of the film-makers, and speak to the importance of independent film-making, but it also speaks to the superiority of story over effects.
Indy isn’t a big dog. He’s a mixed long-haired retriever of some sort weighing 35 pounds or so. He’s intensely scared but brave to know when he has to face the indeterminate terror that inhabited Todd’s grandfather’s house. As the audience is locked into his perspective and his choices, the precariousness of his situation is also theirs.
This film manages to create an unbreakable bond between Indy and the audience, such that his choices in this film are instantly understood and accepted. We are instantly scared when something dark and humanoid slithers out of the corner of the room towards Todd and we applaud Indy for being the last line of defence between this supernatural terror and his best friend. Hell, we’re scared for him.
We’re scared. By that standard, this is a successfully scary film. But, we are also scared for our friend, Indy, and we want him to be safe as well. The question, “Will Indy be okay?” looms over the events of Good Boy.
That is the question going into this film that the audience doesn’t know the answer to: will Indy be okay?
That dark shadow in the corner? To regular human eyes, it’s a shadow. But to a dog? The shadow increases in size and moves towards the dog’s person and best friend, forcing that dog to bark out loud in defence of its owner.
The typical annoyed human response?
“What are you barking at? There’s nothing there!”
Dogs know. In fact, whenever my dog barks inexplicably at 2 a.m. I never question it; I look outside and see what I can see. If I can’t see anything there, then she’s just doing her job.
Good girl.
As for Indy?
What a good boy. What a great film.
Good Boy. Directed by Ben Leonberg. Starring Indy, Larry Fessenden, Shane Jensen, Arielle Friedman, and Stuart Rudin. In theatres October 3.