One of Mashable’s favorites out of SXSW 2025 — and winner of the Howl of Fame Award out of the fest — Good Boy is coming to theaters this fall to scare you something awful. But dog lovers especially will be shaken.
The premise is simple: a dog is in a haunted house, aware of the spirits his owner can’t see. It’s ruthlessly frightening to watch this play out, not just because audiences tend to feel for dogs more deeply than they do human characters. It’s because co-writer/director Ben Leonberg has a real star in Indy, the family dog who proves to be a mesmerizing onscreen presence. The two work together like you might expect from man and man’s best friend.
In my rave review out of SXSW, I cheered, “Indy is just a star from his first frame. His dark eyes, floppy ears, and sweet expression make him instantly lovable. But more than that, he is so game for whatever Leonberg directs him to do. Staying and staring into an eerie abyss? Jumping into action? Reacting to a burst of blood? Racing to Todd to protect him? Indy is a good boy, through and through.”
Each beat might be familiar to the genre of haunted house, but feels fresh thanks to the furry star at its center. This trailer gives you a taste of what scares Leonberg has in store, along with some of the praise Good Boy has garnered from critics already.
Be warned: this one had me yowling at the screen. Do you think you can handle it?
Good Boy opens in theaters Oct. 3.
