Good Boy

There are people who assume that humans are the only animals capable of acting. Those people are not paying attention. Yes, many animal performers, like very young child performers, are simply coaxed into undertaking certain actions or expressing certain emotions, and that’s not the same thing. But every now and again a non-human animal comes along who gets it, even if it’s just a game of pretend and they have no conception of what the end result will be. And just occasionally, from among them, there emerges an exceptional talent.

In Good Boy, Indy the dog delivers not only a great animal performance, but one of the best performances by anyone this year.

There’s a reason why the best human actors are often those who start in childhood. Adults have a lot to unlearn before they can express emotion naturally and freely. For Indy, there is less in the way, so perhaps he has an advantage, but it’s clear that he’s doing something intentional. It’s there in the way he shifts between emotions in a single shot, and in the complex mixtures of emotion he communicates. It’s there in the way that he is able to carry human viewers with him, keeping their attention riveted to the screen for 72 minutes; and in how shaken he leaves many of them afterwards.

Acting under his own name, Indy plays the companion of Todd (Shane Jenson), who is his whole world. There’s also Todd’s sister, Vera (Arielle Friedman) with whom she is friendly, but the two of them have been at odds a bit recently, for reasons Indy doesn’t understand, so he’s happy when he and Todd set off on a trip together. Less so when they arrive a their destination, a dank, dilapidated house in the middle of nowhere. At first he doesn’t want to go in, and tries to persuade Todd that they’d be better off staying in the car, but of course, in the long cinematic tradition of white men who ignore warnings from their social inferiors, Todd doesn’t listen to him.

It quickly become apparent that this is now where they will be living, and Indy tries to make the best of it. he’s wary of unfamiliar animals in the surrounding woods. He’s also wary of parts of the house itself. On a terrifying day when Todd leaves him alone there – a sequence that will leave many dog owners feeling racked with guilt – he waits by the window until it gets dark. Then he starts to see things – things that Todd will never see. In his own way, he discovers something of the history of the house, which used to be owned by Todd’s father (played by Larry Fessenden). Local people think it’s haunted because several generations of men have died there. A neighbour worries about Todd. Like Indy, these people lack a key piece of information, and superstition fills the gap.

For all its references to the supernatural, this is ultimately a film about the things we don’t understand, and the terror of the unknown – something that Todd is also facing, for his own reasons. As Todd’s behaviour starts to change, Indy knows that something is off. He interprets it as a hostile presence trying to take over his friend’s body and mind. he is loyal to Todd, willing to do just about anything for him – through Indy’s performance, we come to understand just how deep that commitment runs, and the courage it requires – so it is torturous for him when he no longer knows if Todd can be trusted. Then there are the awful moments when he is shut out and, as well as being afraid for himself, wants desperately to reach his friend so that he can protect him.

Phenomena which might not be all that scary in a normal horror film become terrifying when we see them through the eyes of someone so vulnerable, with no real means of reaching out for help. Then there are the more mundane things that are confusing for everyone, but that we don’t usually find the means to address in this raw, direct way. Indy’s intellectual capacity to grasp what’s happening may be limited but he is at times more emotionally sophisticated than Todd. The dynamic between the two of them is revealing and heartbreaking.

It’s difficult to say much more without spoilers; only that this is not a Disney-style adventure with a cute canine hero; nor is it a conventional haunted house film. There’s some tough subject matter at the heart of it, and it is often difficult to watch. Nevertheless, you won’t want to look away. Stories have been told from the perspective of dogs before, but never like this. it’s an impressive film in its own right, and Indy’s work is just stunning.

Reviewed on: 29 Sep 2025