‘Good Boy’ (2025) Review – Man’s Best Friend In A Haunted House Makes For A Stirringly Poignant Horror Film

Dogs are special. Anyone who owns or has owned one knows this feeling all too well. It is this sentiment that underlies the film Good Boy. Dogs often appear in horror films, usually as a mere plot device. However, this movie takes our four-legged friend and puts him in a haunted house. Whereas it is usually the human characters who see shadows and hear moans in the dark, now the role is reversed. This is a film about a dog who sees everything that goes bump in the night, all while telling a powerful story about loyalty and the frail mystery of life.

First off, if there were an award for ‘Best Performance by a Canine’, that award would go to the dog Indy. It is a significant gamble to have a film with little dialogue, where the entire plot hinges on the reaction and interactions of a dog. Fortunately, it is a big gamble that pays off in beaucoup biscuits. Here is a film that does not create any new scares or provocative images related to a haunted house. What it does make is a compelling and, yes, poignant story of man’s best friend. 

When Indy (Indy) and his owner and best friend, Todd (Shane Jensen), leave the city, they head out to a remote family home in the country. We see a portrait of an unbreakable bond between Todd and Indy. Once settled into their new home, Indy begins witnessing strange phenomena in the house. There is a creepy and unnerving feeling that all is not right in the house, and only Indy can perceive it. After seeing a phantasmagoric warning from a long-dead dog and visions of the previous occupant’s death, Indy works to prevent this same malevolence intent on dragging Todd into the afterlife. 

Now, before I dive any further, let me put forth a notice that I know is on many people’s minds regarding Indy’s fate in this movie. While there is a part of me that wishes to keep such crucial plot points secret, because we hold our four-legged friends dear, and often an animal’s death in a movie is gut-wrenchingly cruel. I see reason to dispel concerns over Indy if anyone is on the fence about seeing this movie. If you don’t want to know, do not read the next two sentences. The outcome is tangential to the overall plot, and I do not consider this a major spoiler. In short, the dog survives. 

The film itself is nothing new in terms of haunted house motifs. We have seen countless paranormal films over the years, and the apparitions and scares in this film are run-of-the-mill. What separates Good Boy from the others, even more innovative ones, is that our protagonist is a dog. The movie is the mirror of last year’s In a Violent Nature. Here, the effect of switching up the point of view is more effective. Whereas the former is told through the eyes of a silent serial killer, here we have a dog as the unconventional perspective. No doubt, the switch is more compelling. In many ways, Good Boy is what In a Violent Nature wishes it could be. 

There is a dark and insidious attempt to weave a scary web. Never have the stakes in a haunted house felt more real when it concerns our four-legged friend. Clocking in just over an hour, the movie employs numerous scare tripwires. The situation is gripping, even though our protagonist is unable to speak. 

The movie taps into our compassion for animals and our desire to see Indy survive the encounter. It is that concern which makes the otherwise pedestrian stakes feel elevated and authentic. As an even loyal companion, Indy is ready to risk muzzle and limb to protect Todd from ghostly forces at play in this cabin. The film becomes a stunning examination of loyalty and friendship that transcends the thrills and scares. 

Good Boy works because we buy into the believability of the dog. We fear for Indy as he attempts to confront the spectral forces tormenting this house and his buddy, Todd. The stakes become as real as if Indy were walking and talking. The switch in perspective, told through a dog’s eyes, works on a different level while simultaneously communicating a story about life and death. What begins as a spooky trip through a haunted house becomes a fight against the specter of death.  

Now, the ending itself may leave audiences conflicted. There is a heartbreaking aftermath to the whole affair. It compounds the mystery of the word, but it is told through the eyes of a dog. Our pets cannot speak to us, but they communicate through glances, through barks. It is through our interactions that a bond is formed, and one that stretches the bonds of life on this earth. In the end, scares aside, Good Boy finds company in the same row as Lassie and even Air Bud. Not to draw a link between those films and this one, but all score the underlying connection that the companionship between a dog and its owner is unbreakable.  

Good Boy will debut exclusively in theaters on October 3, 2025, courtesy of the Independent Film Company and Shudder.