Clocking in this week is a horror film that gets an “A” for innovation, but a “D” for execution. Lemme just ask: How would you like a confusing horror told completely from the perspective of a dog?
Oh, I know you film fans are pinching yourselves, “Why haven’t we done this before?” And “Will there be more?” “Will there be a series?” How about “Good Tabby” and “Good Rat” and “Good Snake” for goodness snakes. Every animal in the kingdom is scared of something – how can we all cash in?
For now, we’re stuck with Good Boy, the story of a retriever and his betrothed, a young man dying from lung cancer. Luckily, the young man, Todd (Shane Jensen), has just inherited a house in the country where his grandfather died prematurely. Oh, the house is haunted, doncha know? In fact, his grandfather died from the haunting, which nobody seems to talk about. The question to me is: “How long had gramps lived in the house?” If we’re talkin’ 50 years before gramps bit the supernatural bullet, then, heck, I don’t worry about Todd. Just, y’know, try not to draw a pentagram and summon Satan while you’re there, capisce?
The unique part of this film is that it’s told entirely from the perspective of the dog. The camera is always at dog level. We never see Todd’s face fully (OMG, he has a beard!), compounded by the fact that Todd is sick for most of the film.
During the film, an insidious figure in all black stalks Todd and the dog. Is it some sort of swamp demon or just a stagehand? The creature appears to be both humanoid and supernatural (based on ability to appear and disappear). How scared should we be, exactly? And what does it want? And why does Todd turn into the demon from time-to-time? I’m
confused.
Lemme bottom line this for you: This was an innovative idea, but not a good one. Dogs aren’t actors. So making one your star is always going to be problematic on some level. However, even if Indy (great name for a movie dog!) were Sir Laurence Olivier, the film would still be confusing, and it’s harder to be scared when you’re confused.
The problem with Good Boy is that we do a lot of audience guessing. Such is exacerbated by poor cinematography and a lack of dialogue – which mostly consists of Todd telling his sister over the phone not to worry about him. There’s also some VHS footage of grandpa dying … but, again, this just adds to the confusion. The sister speculates the house is haunted, but, again, how haunted? What does that mean? How did grandpa die? And when did grandpa die? Why does the footage look like it was taken in the 1980s? What has gone on in this house since then?
None of that will be answered, but you will get to see a Good Boy.
A Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
Might be a supernatural believer
For he sees in the dark
Evil forces that spark
Is it a demon or just squirrel fever?
Rated PG-13, 72 Minutes
Director: Ben Leonberg
Writer: Alex Cannon, Ben Leonberg
Genre: Innovative horror
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Dog lovers
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Movie lovers
