‘Good Boy’: Dogs and spirits

‘Good Boy’, from co-writer/director Ben Leonberg, is about a loyal canine who finds his sanity tested when his ailing owner relocates to a haunted cabin. Leonberg casts his dog, Indy, in the pivotal role.

This film, made on a shoestring budget, has a short and sweet runtime of 72 minutes and is an artful examination of canine protection in a surreal atmosphere of eerie chills and paranormal threats. This is a unique experiment in the horror genre and makes for an interesting viewing experience.

Those who have dogs as pets will avow to the fact that dogs can see spirits. Folklore, mythology and religious beliefs also reinforce the association between dogs and spirits. So, when a feature film uses this belief as the primary tool to construct horror, there’s certainly something more to it than run of the mill.

Todd (Shane Jensen) and his pet, Indy, share an indelible bond. Todd is battling a terminal illness and chooses to relocate to his grandfather’s (Larry Fessenden) remote “accursed” cabin in the woods. His sister, Vera (Arielle Friedman), genuinely concerned about her brother, keeps in touch through the phone. At the cabin, while Todd explores his grandfather’s home movies, Indy comes into contact with shadowy visions and undefined threats.

There’s not much of a story here. The film opens with Todd’s sister finding him unconscious, and admitting him to a hospital. At the cabin, Todd, whom we mostly see from the waist down, coughs and wheezes as he lumbers around the spooky home.

The setup is simple. The generator has gone kaput and Todd and his pet are mostly in the dark. Indy keeps him company while Todd is struggling to get the generator to work. We see everything from Indy’s low-level point of view. Leonberg provides a brief history of Indy, and a video montage details Todd and Indy’s bonding. We also see video grabs of Todd’s grandfather and his dogs. Todd also encounters Mr Downs, a neighbour who warns him of fox traps in the area.

The lighting is ominous as Indy moves around the many dark corners and secret spaces. Leonberg uses shadow play to suggest paranormal occurrences and even manages to get interesting reactions from Indy. This is largely a sensory experience. We get to feel the spectres, bad vibes and creeping eeriness through Indy’s natural performance.

It took three years to film this and the attempt to create a realistic atmosphere and characters pays off. Curtis Roberts’ editing and Wade Grebnoel’s cinematography work in tandem to make Indy’s nightmares seem real.

This is not a traditional horror film. The script has barely any dialogue. Blood and gore are minimal. Indy’s dreams cut into the narrative to increment the surreal nature of this offering. He is haunted by something stalking him. This film relies on his sensitive hearing as he becomes privy to accentuated sounds and whimpers in reaction.

The climax is inventive if not exactly thrilling or creepy. This film is an original. It generates enough deeply affecting atmospherics to keep the audience worked up. It’s a horror movie that has its heart in underlining interspecies love amidst all the imagined threats.