GOOD BOY
****
Directed by Ben Leonberg.
Starring Indy, Shane Jensen, Larry Fessenden.
Horror, US, 72 Minutes, Certificate 15.
Released in cinemas in the UK on 10th October by Vertigo Releasing
Has there ever been a more stressful mix than dogs and horror? Well maybe cats if you are that way inclined but our canine companions often have a rough deal of it too, finding themselves either the victim (those poor huskies in THE THING), a brave protector (Beast in THE HILLS HAVE EYES, who gains extra points for avenging his companion Beauty’s death) or the villain (Cujo and Dracula’s hound Zoltan being prime examples for film, and Baxter the psychopathic bull terrier in Ken Greenhall’s cult novel HELL HOUND leading the pack of killer animal tales that were so popular in the paperback horror boom of the 1970’s and 80’s.) Because of our close relationship with these four legged creatures, a sense of foreboding kicks in immediately whenever they lope onscreen in our favourite genre. If you are feeling you have not been tested in this particular department for quite some time, get ready to meet Indy, one of the most sympathetic protagonists in many a year who finds himself slap bang in a supernatural siege that would rattle anyone with two legs, let alone four.
Indy, played by director Ben Leonberg’s own retriever, takes centre stage in this inventive staging of what is essentially a ghost story, albeit one told through the point of view of a domesticated animal. This fresh perspective lends the film a fresh and unpredictable edge. Over a brief yet tense seventy-two minutes we see how Indy struggles with a seemingly unknowable threat that has come to claim the life of Todd, his much loved owner. Although the humans in this film are mostly shown from the neck down, matching Indy’s immediate field of vision, the audience can see an illness at play. However, when Todd makes the decision to tackle his illness at his deceased grandfather's country house we soon discover another threat, one that may have already claimed Todd’s grandfather, and one that only Indy can sense, driving him to protect his owner.
For anyone that’s spotted their pets looking intently at an empty space or corner at home, GOOD BOY should raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Leonberg makes expert use of his protagonists' unfamiliar perception. This mixture of the uncanny and familiar, most of which is beyond Indy’s level of comprehension, helps elevate what could have been a more than familiar story of a haunting. Indy’s fear, as well as his compassion for his owner, is a palpable thing. There is a sense of helplessness at play here, one that many of us will be more than familiar with when watching our own close and loved ones suffer. On a deeper level the film could be seen as the isolation and uselessness that can be felt as we watch someone being slowly taken away from us, whether through disease or otherwise. Like the recent MOTHER OF FLIES from the Adams Family, this is that rare type of horror film that tackles the spectre of death, literal or otherwise, head on in a way that much of the genre seems unprepared to truly acknowledge.
For a debut film, Ben Leonberg has certainly made an impression as a director. His commanding of an unusual perspective pays off handsomely here. With the presence of Larry Fessenden in the small role of Todd’s grandfather, the film feels of a part with the brand of indie horror that he often champions and promotes, while the film's main hook should attract a larger audience curious to see if the trick can be pulled off successfully.
That it can is due in no small part to its leading man/dog. Indy is a wonderfully expressive performer. Indy is a compelling and sympathetic protagonist who immediately gets the audience onside. At times looking and feeling scared, concerned and puzzled for both his owner and himself, he brings an edge to the film that many human performers would have a hard time competing with. In no small part due to his director/owner’s patience and familiarity with him, Indy delivers an expertly realised performance, captured over three years with no digital trickery, that helps drive across the film's other theme of dependence between man and beast.
Original, inventive, scary and touching, GOOD BOY is all of these things and more. While stressful at times it never crosses the line into cruelty. It also manages to be one of the most haunting films of the year with a quiet climax that lingers long in the memory after watching. Just be prepared to fight the urge to give every dog you see a hug on the way home after watching it.
Iain MacLeod