By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
"GOOD BOY" IS MORE CUTE THAN CREEPY
Doggone it. I really wanted to like this movie. I love dogs and horror movies.
So, the idea behind
"Good Boy" from
Ben Leonberg in his directorial debut alongside co-writer
Alex Cannon, seemed like a tasty little treat for my genre-loving heart.
For the first 40 minutes or so, it genuinely feels like Leonberg has crafted a haunted house story from a delightfully unusual perspective: his own Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. Indy, is front and center, sniffing out trouble and being adorable. And yes, watching the world through a dog's eyes is charming, until it’s not.
In "Good Boy" Shane Jensen ("The Way the Crow Flies") plays Todd, young man battling chronic lung disease. He decides to leave the hectic pace of New York City and move into his grandfather's remote cabin and brings his four-legged fur baby Indy with him for support. Todd's sister, Vera (Arielle Friedman, "City Wide Fever") worries constantly about her brother's self-imposed exile. What is more, she's convinced the house is haunted and contributed to their grandfather's untimely demise.
Indy, however, is having none of it and immediately senses a presence in the home. Dogs have that special sense.
Shadows flicker, and sometimes this "presence" takes the form of a mud-drenched, skeletal apparition. On a stroll through the woods, Todd and Indy meet Richard (Stuart Rudin, "The Home"), the neighborhood's unofficial watchman, who warns them of fox traps and casually drops the bombshell that he found Todd's grandfather's corpse and that Bandit, the family's Golden Retriever, has been missing ever since. Indy, naturally, raises an eyebrow, or the dog equivalent of one.
If only dogs could talk.
"Good Boy" tries to balance genuine suspense with canine charm, but the juggling act occasionally resembles a dog chasing its own tail.
The house itself is creepy in theory. There are creaky floors, shadowy corners, and the like. The other problem is like with so many low budget movies, mostly everything is so dark that it's difficult to tell what's what.
Still, the performances are rather effective, but naturally Indy is the real scene-stealer, especially when he is sniffing out clues or looking mildly offended at the human nonsense around him.
Recurring dreams, sudden noises, and ghostly glimpses hint at a deeper haunting, but the story leaves some suspense dangling like a chew toy out of reach. Indy's low-to-the-ground viewpoint is nice, but even it can't fully make up for the lack of scares and thrills.
"Good Boy" wags its tail with promise, but it just left me itching for a bit more bite.
"Good Boy" begins streaming on Shudder Nov. 21.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Check Out This Trailer For
"GOOD BOY"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
