Dog is my Co-Pilot
Directed by Ben Leonberg
Starring Indy the Dog, Shane Jensen, Arielle Friedman
Released October 3rd, 2025
Rated PG-13
Pet owners take a fair number of pictures and videos of their beloved animals. Sometimes these photos wind up on calendars, sometimes the funnier videos are shared with pals. Ben Leonberg spent a few years filming reaction shots of his dog, Indy, and now we can see that footage edited together in a narrative film titled Good Boy. The premise is strong: a haunted house movie from the point of view of a dog. That’s a great elevator pitch, but that’s not exactly what is happening here.
While there are some doggie POV shots, most of the time the camera is a few feet above the ground, squarely on the dog, so that the audience can focus on his reactions to the strange events unfolding around him. Though he is a dog in a house that may be haunted, Indy does not behave like Scooby-Doo. He doesn’t display human qualities or understanding about what may be transpiring. Indy behaves as a dog would, curious and sometimes disturbed, but always ready to return to his owner’s side.
His owner is Todd (Shane Jensen), a young man experiencing severe health issues. He’s coughing up blood. He’s in bad shape. Todd takes Indy to a house in the middle of nowhere that was left to him by his recently deceased grandpa (Larry Fessenden). Todd takes phone calls from his sister Vera (Arielle Friedman), who is concerned that he is not getting the medical attention that he needs. Todd spends his days watching old VHS tapes that his grandpa recorded, odd volumes that seem to indicate that there is something supernatural haunting the property.
Todd’s failing health prevents him from focusing on anything else, including anything strange that could be happening in the shadows of the creepy old house. Indy the dog notices everything. Every bump or creak, every shadowy figure looming just out of sight. Indy even has a little doggie nightmare during which he is attacked by malevolent forces. Is the house really haunted, or are the specters that Indy senses a manifestation of his owner’s impending passing? Does Indy even have a concept of what death means? These are the questions that may go through your head while you are waiting for Good Boy to throw some interesting story developments your way.
Unfortunately, there are no interesting story developments to be found. Once the novelty of a dog-focused horror film wears off, you’re not left with much. It’s not dissimilar to Skinamarink, an analog horror hit from a few years back that had a ton of atmosphere but not much else. When a film has a micro-budget, one is inclined to let dodgy special effects slide. You’ll have to do that if you want to enjoy Good Boy, as the computer-generated special effects on display toward the conclusion are pretty bad. I will say the cinematography by Wade Grebnoel and Ben Leonberg is very well done. Most of the film is shot in low light, and it still looks spectacular.
The filmmakers take an interesting approach to the humans in the movie, mostly showing them from the torso down, their faces obscured in shadows. I suppose this is intended to put us more into Indy’s point of view, but since we can understand everything the humans are saying, it doesn’t amount to much more than a stylistic choice. Can you imagine how much more isolating the experience would be for viewers had the filmmakers decided to make the human voices unintelligible? As likable a protagonist as Indy is, Good Boy is a short experiment (just 70 minutes!) that doesn’t quite work.
Had this movie been made in the past, there is little doubt our titular hero may have been subjected to mistreatment during filming. I felt comfortable watching Good Boy with the faith that every precaution was taken to ensure the health and safety of our doggo star. You would think that this would be a movie for dog lovers, but I’m not sure dog lovers would want to watch a movie where the dog is in a state of peril for the entire film. 2025 was the year cinema went to the dogs, with memorable performances by real and not-so-real dogs in films like The Friend (Bing), Merv (Gus), and Superman (Krypto). Add Indy to that list of canine celebrities. Even if their movies are hit and miss, they are all very good boys.