Horror has long put people at the center of its scares — and too often cast dogs as the threat. Between werewolves and the notorious Stephen King tale Cujo, canine characters have rarely been the sympathetic lead. IFC Films’ Good Boy, however, flips that script. The film arrives on Shudder in November 2025 — and no, this isn’t the separate 2020 Blumhouse/Hulu entry starring Judy Greer, which remains a different, entertaining take on killer-dog territory.
Good Boy centers on Indy, a dog who becomes the household guardian against forces humans can’t see. After his family moves into a new home, Indy reacts to empty corners, detects an invisible presence only he notices, receives eerie, dreamlike warnings tied to a long-dead dog, and experiences visions of the prior resident’s violent end. When Todd, Indy’s owner, begins to fall under the house’s influence, Indy must fight to protect him.
Photo: Danielle Freiberg/IFC FilmsDirector Ben Leonberg told Polygon that he wanted to invert the usual perspective: imagine the shoe on the other foot and follow a dog as it senses a mounting, encroaching darkness. That premise shapes the film’s tone and its emotional stakes, turning a familiar haunted-house setup into a story about loyalty and perception from an animal’s point of view.
Leonberg co-produced Good Boy with his wife, Kari Fischer, and the film’s true star is their dog, Indy — a 35-pound, middle-aged retriever who, according to the film’s press materials, “has no idea that he’s a movie star…or does he?” Indy’s likes are simple: fetch, food, and his humans, in that order. Off-camera he’s a practiced tennis-ball finder and an expert at pleading for dinner.
The movie enjoyed a brief theatrical release in October 2025, grossing more than $8 million against a modest $750,000 budget, and critics responded warmly — it currently holds a 90% “Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Good Boy lands on Shudder on November 21, 2025 — just in time to cozy up with family over the Thanksgiving holiday and watch Indy do what he does best: save the people he loves.
Source: Polygon
