Good Boy (2025)

This movie proves that the real horror was always just being a dog with separation anxiety in a household with unclear boundaries.

Before we go any further: the dog is not physically harmed and does not die in this film. I’m saying this upfront because I know that’s the only thing people care about when there’s a dog in a movie, and it’s completely true. You can relax.

Indy is giving hands down the best performance in the entire film and is an incredible actor. I’m not joking. This dog understood the assignment better than most human actors I’ve seen this year. Also, this has some of the best editing of the year, which is wild to say about a movie where the main character is a Border Collie.

I should note this is more of a tonal horror film à la Skinamarink than a by-the-numbers horror movie. It’s shocking to me that this got a wide release, but I get it - I was immediately drawn to the trailer as well, which went viral for a reason. It’s such an unusual concept.

What really worked for me about this film is having such an unconventional protagonist. Having a dog lead the story made me reflect on our relationships with dogs and their relationship with us in ways I wasn’t expecting. Dogs are so expressive, so vulnerable, and so completely helpless in certain situations. It’s genuinely scary to see Indy get put into dangerous situations because of his inability to help himself or even open a door. That helplessness is terrifying in a way that human protagonists can’t quite capture.

It just made me want to be nicer to all animals and love my pets even harder. Also, can I say I am so glad it’s no longer socially acceptable to just keep your animal chained up outside full-time? That was the most heartbreaking scene in the movie for me - seeing Indy trapped like that with no agency or understanding of why.

I don’t think this is a good movie, but I did really like this movie, and it did make me cry. I really enjoyed the ending. I thought it worked well and I loved the ambiguity of the whole thing - leaving you unsettled without spelling everything out.

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