2025’s Most Surprising Horror Movie: Born from a Deeply Personal Fear

Good Boy is a horror film that takes an uncommon route: rather than following teenagers or paranormal investigators, it unfolds through the senses of a dog — a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever named Indy — who must protect his owner as unsettling forces close in on their remote cabin.

The lean, 90-minute thriller was initially slated for a limited run but expanded to a wide release after its trailer spread online; audiences rushed to read coverage and see whether Indy makes it. We’ll avoid spoiling the finale here, but the film’s origins are worth exploring.

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Ben Leonberg, the first-time director and Indy’s real-life owner, says the film began with a very familiar worry for dog guardians.

“There’s a common question every dog owner has had: why is my dog barking at—or staring into—what looks like nothing? Even if there’s a rational reason, our imaginations tend to run toward the worst possibilities. I wanted to build a story that lives inside that constrained viewpoint, letting the narrative emerge from only what the dog can perceive.” — Ben Leonberg

The experiment pays off. By centering a nonverbal protagonist, the movie encourages audiences to project emotions onto Indy; exposition arrives through incidental human dialogue and carefully crafted sound and cinematography rather than conventional explanation.

Leonberg stresses that Indy isn’t “acting” in the theatrical sense; instead, the craft of the film — composition, lighting, sound design and score — persuades viewers to read intention and feeling into the dog’s neutral expressions.

“Animals are a direct line to an audience’s empathy because of their innocence. Indy isn’t aware he’s in a film; yet through filmmaking choices the audience perceives fear, curiosity, and care in him. On set we’d make silly noises to get reactions, and audiences would interpret those responses as emotion.” — Ben Leonberg

Even technical decisions were made to shape how audiences relate to Indy. Leonberg notes the dog’s size informed both the camera placement and the tone: at roughly 19 inches tall, Indy positions the camera low to the ground, which creates intimacy and vulnerability — qualities that serve the story far better than casting a massive, intimidating breed.

“How could he possibly succeed?” Leonberg says of the small hero — a question that heightens drama and, not incidentally, makes him irresistible to watch.

Good Boy is in theaters now.

Source: Polygon