Recently, acclaimed Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher commented on silent cinema, calling it “a completely different medium of expression”, which can be interpreted in a few different ways. However, something that does become very relevant when we look at it as a medium in isolation from sound cinema is that words are not always necessary, since having the right actor in a role can challenge and provoke an audience, even if they do not say a word. This is obviously a contentious topic, and one that can’t easily be reduced to such a simple sentiment, even if it does stir a lot of thought around why it was that silent cinema feels so starkly different, beyond the absence of spoken dialogue. A recent film that seems oddly adherent to Rohrwacher’s words as a whole is Good Boy, the directorial debut of Ben Leonberg, in which the director attempts to rework the horror genre into something unique. The hook that accompanies the film, and the entire reason for its existence, is based on the fact that it is a horror film in which the primary focus is on a dog. On its own, this doesn’t immediately strike us as entirely impressive, considering the myriad examples of works in this genre that feature unorthodox protagonists. However, rather than dipping too heavily into the supernatural or portraying the main character as some anthropomorphic blend of human and beast, the film is an attempt at a more grounded, realistic work of terror. The story is centred around Indy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever who serves as the loyal companion of Todd, a young man suffering from a brutal lung disease that could potentially be the end of him should it be left untreated. Naturally, the volatile Todd decides to move into his late grandfather’s remote cabin deep in the woods, accompanied only by his loyal dog. Almost immediately, Indy begins to notice that something is amiss, a feeling of dread quickly enshrouding them, alerting him to imminent danger. However, unable to talk but willing to do whatever it takes to protect his best friend, Indy does his best to battle the sinister paranormal forces that lurk in this house, who may be stronger and more shrewd than a simple dog, but are certainly no match for a creature whose loyalty seemingly knows no bounds. A film that was sold on the originality of its premise, but proves to actually be far deeper than we would expect, Good Boy is a delightfully offbeat horror that may seem like a novelty at first, but swiftly proves its mettle as a wholly original work, and one that is certainly worth the time of anyone with a taste for the unconventional.

With the exception of a small minority that may have been familiar with his two previous works (both small-scale short films), Good Boy is our introduction to Leonberg as a filmmaker, and it’s most certainly an impressive one. The more we learn about his interests and how he applied them to the creation of this film, the clearer it becomes that he is a vital new voice in contemporary horror, someone who not only has a deep knowledge of the genre and how it has evolved over the past century, but also the technical skill to put that information to exceptional use. This is a fascinating attempt to redefine horror by taking it apart at the hinges, challenging us to look beneath the surface and embracing the idea that a concept as absurd as this not only works extraordinarily well, but is the foundation for a truly brilliant work of cinema all on its own. Isolating the concept from the execution (which we’ll discuss in due course), Good Boy is driven by a few key themes, all of which are made quite clear throughout the film. The director has remarked that his inspiration comes from films such as Poltergeist, where he noticed that animals are usually used as bellwethers to detect otherworldly entities, which is not just restricted to fictional works of horror, but have become part of the popular mythology, with the belief that dogs can sense malicious forces becoming a fascinating part of the culture, with many working to actually prove it to be true (although for those of us who don’t believe in the paranormal, we can’t help but view this as nothing more than peculiar speculation) – and using this as the cue, the director assembles a film that manages to actually be extremely smart in how it approaches the subject, which is constructed around the well-worn adage of “man’s best friend”, the endlessly loyal and patient creatures that stand by their companions, regardless of the challenges that they face. Immediately, we are going to be drawn to the film on a purely conceptual level, especially those of us who have a special affinity for dogs, with Good Boy being one of the most unexpectedly beautiful tributes to these animals and their good-hearted, courageous nature, which was the impetus for so much of this film, and the primary reason it becomes such an unexpected triumph, both in terms of concept and execution, using it as an entry-point into an unexpectedly dark and challenging story of an innocent animal battling against sinister forces, doing whatever possible to defend his beloved owner from falling victim to some otherworldly entity that lingers in their new home.

To evoke another master of the cinematic medium, we can look towards W.C. Fields, who famously provided the advice to “never work with children or animals”, a quote that has become an unofficial rule of the performing arts as a whole. Naturally, Fields likely didn’t get the opportunity to witness some of the exceptional work that can be done by either of them, which may have changed his mind for the most part. There has been enough discussion about child performers, and not nearly enough that highlights the extraordinary work that can be done by animal actors. For about as long as we have been making films, there have been examples of non-human characters who are brought to life by a variety of creatures. In most cases, just the presence of an adorable animal can be enough to fool us into feeling a sense of affection, which makes the occasional arrival of a genuinely great performance even more astonishing. Naturally, there is always going to be incredulity towards the idea that an animal can actually deliver a performance, since, at the best of times, it is simply a case of a very obedient creature doing a few well-timed tricks, which is really all that a lot of these performances are at their core. However, there’s something quite different about Indy, who we can say (without even an ounce of hyperbole) delivers one of the best performances of the year, and one that redefines what can be done with animal actors. Considering he is the director’s own dog, we can even consider Good Boy to be the work of an artist designed to showcase his cherished muse – and from start to end, the film is a brilliant demonstration of Indy, who carries the film entirely on his own (budgetary constraints and the intimate scope of the production meant that he was the only dog cast in the role, as opposed to the usual practice of using multiple identical actors), the director knowing exactly how to interact with his beloved pet to bring out the best in the kind of collaborator that we would never imagine could be such a tremendous lead. We have to appreciate the extent to which the director goes to ensure the film was constantly from Indy’s perspective, rather than employing the usual technique of pairing him with a human actor who was the de facto lead – the interactions between Indy and Shane Jensen (who plays his owner here) were interesting based on the human actor never actually being the focus, such as his face never being shown completely, nor his perspective ever being in focus. As a result, the attention is entirely on Indy, who proves to be one of the year’s most unexpectedly delightful protagonists.

To be fair, a lot of what makes Good Boy so extraordinary has to do with Leonberg’s direction – we can attempt to credit everything to the adorable dog, but while Indy is a fantastic lead, like any film, much of the work is done by the director, who is tasked with assembling a cohesive work. This film is very much a ferociously independent work, a carefully-crafted piece of horror that is best-described as do-it-yourself cinema. Filmed over the course of four years, featuring people that the director knows and employing a very sparse cast and crew (to the point where much of the film was made with only the director on set, in addition to the actors, in some instances), working from paltry resources. However, rather than allowing himself to be limited by what he had at his disposal, Leonberg instead views it as an opportunity to experiment with the form. Most of Indy’s performance is composed through very short shots, as well as filming him at close range, undoubtedly to mask the efforts to cue certain tricks or guide him from one place to another, and while it is quite obvious that much of his performance is drawn from this (although not his expressivity, which many would argue is the key to his brilliance), it does prove to be extremely charming, since it shows the lengths to which creativity can take a director. All you need to make a solid film is ambition and a sense of resourcefulness, and the presence of special effects or overly lavish filmmaking practices, as comfortable as they may make the project, are not always necessary when it comes to capturing the spirit of cinematic creation. Any budding independent filmmaker should seek out Good Boy, since it proves to be a perfect example of how a simple idea (and one that we can even consider slightly veering towards the absurd) can be developed into something that is not only entertaining, but actually quite brilliant in its methods, reworking elements such as shot composition, narrative structure and tone to create something very memorable, and in the process becoming unique. We don’t see films shown from the perspective of animals all that often (at least in terms of realistic depictions of them, rather than instances where they personified as being quite close to humans in terms of behaviour and speech), so the effort that went into authentically recreating what a dog would likely witness if they were in the position of being a hero of a horror film, is truly invigorating and reinstills in us a genuine love of the craft.

How do you redefine a medium of film? Apparently (if we’re going by what we see in Good Boy), all you need is a camera, a cabin and a canine, which is more than enough to get the job done. Of course, this is a wild overstatement, and one said with tongue firmly in cheek, although the respect we feel towards Leonberg and his efforts to bring this film to life is very much authentic. There will always be a portion of the audience that views Good Boy as a novelty, a fun but otherwise hollow work that doesn’t do anything particularly noteworthy – and while all opinions are somewhat relevant, it is a major disservice to look at this film and not see the abundance of potential lingering beneath the surface. This is far more than just a peculiar little gimmick – the thematic content might be very obvious (there is only so many ways that a film can reiterate the unbreakable bond between a human and their dutifully loyal animal companion), but it more than compensates through the execution, which is something of a minor miracle, both formally and in terms of the more subtle artistic elements that push the film to being far more complex than we would initially expect. Ultimately, Good Boy is going to be slightly divisive, since it’s not the kind of horror film that has mainstream appeal – it is narratively quite sparse, and intentionally ambiguous, which is an intentional choice designed to reflect the quiet confusion likely felt by this dog, whose only impulse above everything else was to protect his own, regardless of the risk. We certainly didn’t need an entire film to remind us of the undying loyalty of our animals (although at 73 minutes, it is on the shorter side as far as feature-length films tend to go), but it still becomes a wildly entertaining journey to see just how far the film is willing to go to explore this concept. Endearing and engaging without ever being too heavy-handed or intense, and maintaining a gentle sense of humour to prove that its not taking itself too seriously, Good Boy is a delightful subversion of conventional horror tropes, and more reason than ever to allow ambitious filmmakers to realise their vision, since even the most abstract of concepts can result in films that are this audacious and wholeheartedly entertaining.