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Dog owners will tell you that a dog will be more loyal, more supportive, more loving than any person you’ll ever meet. A dog will always have your back, no matter what. And that unwavering love and loyalty comes through when a dog’s owner faces a supernatural threat in Good Boy.
Good Boy follows loyal pup Indy and his owner, Todd (Shane Jensen), as they leave their home in the city and move into Todd’s late grandpa’s remote family home. From the beginning, Indy senses that something is wrong with the house—and Todd’s sister, Vera (Arielle Friedman), worries about him staying in a home that’s rumored to be haunted. But Todd refuses to leave. And as he’s slowly overtaken by both sickness and the darkness that resides all around the house, Indy fights to protect his person from the evil that threatens him.
Dogs just seem to be able to sense when something is wrong—and, from the moment he and Todd arrive at this eerie, deserted house (on an appropriately dark and stormy night), Indy can tell that something here just isn’t right. And the more he explores, the less he wants to stick around.
The film explores this haunted-house experience from the perspective of this four-legged hero. The people in the movie are simply supporting characters—seen in shadows or from a distance—allowing Indy to shine. He’s an absolutely lovable hero—brave and loyal to the end—and he makes this the sweetest, most adorable horror film you’ll see all year.
Indy’s adventure is a short one—just 72 minutes long. And while the short runtime will keep viewers in the action, hanging on to each moment with this unlikely hero, it doesn’t allow much time to develop a story. We don’t really know much of what’s happening or why. We don’t really get to know the characters. We don’t even see much—it all plays out in the house’s dark, dreary shadows, from Indy’s point-of-view. So while there are snippets of conversations and glimpses of the lurking evil, the story feels incredibly thin, leaving viewers wishing for a little more background on the house, the characters, and their history.
Still, Good Boy is a horror movie unlike any you’ve seen before. It’s dark and haunting—but also entirely lovable, with a surprisingly powerful performance by its furry star. It may be short on story, but it’s long on personality and charm.
You can join Indy on his mission when Good Boy arrives in theaters on October 3, 2025.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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