“Good Boy” partial poster featuring Indy.
Independent Film Company/Shudder
Good Boy, an acclaimed horror thriller told from a dog’s perspective, is new on streaming this week.
Rated PG-13, Good Boy opened in theaters on Oct. 3 following its debut at the 2025 SXSW Film and TV Festival in March. The official logline for Good Boy reads, “A loyal dog moves to a rural family home with his owner, Todd (Shane Jensen), only to discover supernatural forces lurking in the shadows. As dark entities threaten his human companion, the brave pup must fight to protect the one he loves most.”
Good Boy stars director Beb Leonberg’s Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever named Indy.
The film will be released on digital streaming via premium on demand on Friday, Oct. 24, a Prime Video listing confirms. Good Boy will be available on such digital platforms as Apple TV, Fandango at Home and YouTube. Prime Video currently lists Good Boy for pre-order for purchase for $19.99. Since PVOD rentals generally run $5 less than purchase prices, the film should be available to viewers to rent for $14.99 for a 48-hour period.
Director Explains Why Audiences ‘Quickly’ Root For Indy In ‘Good Boy’
Director Ben Leonberg told Variety in an April interview that the reason Indy is an effective character in Good Boy stems from audiences’ strong feelings for animals.
“The audience gets on board with a canine protagonist so quickly. You have to sometimes convince the audience that your hero is someone to empathize with and root for,” Leonberg told Variety. “If you open the movie with a cute dog, you care about him. Whatever his problem is, we want him to succeed, and the people he cares about, we care about, just because people relate to animals so strongly.”
As for capturing the story from Indy’s point of view, Leonberg told the trade publication that he limited the vantage point of his dog to “a more realistic mix of subjective and objective storytelling.”
“There’s a shot of a dog walking into a room, and he sees something. What does he see? It’s an empty corner. He doesn’t have to do much,” the filmmaker told Variety. “All that storytelling and the meaning of it all take place in the audience’s mind. That’s the Kuleshov effect at play in its most fundamental way.”
Good Boy won Rotten Tomatoes critics, earning an 89% “fresh” rating based on 147 reviews. In a quote in the film’s trailer above, IndieWire praises Indy’s performance by calling him “One of the most emotive actors of his generation, regardless of species.”
Good Boy arrives on digital streaming on Friday.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2025/10/23/dog-led-horror-thriller-good-boy-is-new-on-streaming-this-week/
