There have been so many great horror experiences on the 2025 movie schedule, but few have captured the heart of the internet more than Ben Leonberg’s Good Boy. Told from the perspective of a retriever exploring a haunted house, the movie gets a whole lot better when you realize how the first-time director made a horror movie around his own dog, Indy.
Ahead of the Good Boy premiere, Ben Leonberg spoke with CinemaBlend about his unique film and the adorable pooch at the center of its story. During the chat, he opened up about everything from everyone’s fear Indy would die, to what it was like making one of the most anticipated horror movies of the year with his wife and trusty pet:
Indy’s my actual dog. My wife and I got him as a puppy. We didn’t think he’d be a movie star when we got him. We just got him to be our friend. And that’s really all he’s been trained for. … It took several years as we were writing the movie. And, he’s a kind of dog who loves to have a job. He’s a retriever, so he’s looking to do something. Usually it’s tennis ball related, but he was very game for ‘let’s make a movie for three years.’
make a young dog feel comfortable making a movie? Would you believe us if we said they lived in Good Boy’s haunted house? Because that’s what happened:
Rotten Tomatoes, and a three-and-a-half out of five-star review in CinemaBlend’s official review, this could be one of the most universally beloved horror movies of the year. That’s saying something.
It will be interesting to see where Ben Leonberg and Indy go from here, because another horror movie, a buddy comedy or a sports flick could all be great. Regardless, getting to hang out with man’s best friend and make a movie sounds like a whole lot of fun.