Reviews
‘Good Boy’ Review – Man’s Best Friend Leads an Emotionally Affecting Haunted House Tale
It’s often said that our pets have a sixth sense, seemingly able to detect things beyond our perception or even predict death. It’s a simple, though eerie explanation for the instances where we discover our beloved pup staring intently at an empty corner in the middle of the night or barking at nothing. Good Boy, the feature debut by director Ben Leonberg, who co-wrote the script with Alex Cannon, uses this phenomenon as the basis for a haunted house horror movie. Framing the story entirely from the perspective of man’s best friend poses unique storytelling challenges but instantly creates a sustained feeling of unease and anxiety over the pup’s wellbeing.
Good Boy opens with a conventional haunted house scene, as good pup Indy becomes alarmed by a strange, dark mood that’s pervaded the cramped living room quarters in the middle of the night. His owner, Todd (Shane Jensen), begins bleeding and seizing, revealing this unsettling crisis isn’t supernatural but medical. The seriousness of Todd’s illness soon prompts him to give up his apartment and relocate to his Grandpa’s (Larry Fessenden) abandoned country home, cursed and haunted, according to Todd’s sister Vera (Arielle Friedman). That illness also means that Todd doesn’t notice that something about the place is off, but Indy becomes acutely aware that they’re not alone as its haunted history makes itself known in increasingly alarming ways.
Leonberg smartly establishes the tight-knit bond between Indy and Todd through home video footage charting their life together from Indy’s puppyhood to the present, where the sweet and obedient good boy dotes on Todd’s every move. That he’s such a quiet dog, vocalizing through soft whimpers over barking, only further entrenches this tremendously talented canine actor into your heart. Leonberg further keeps focus on Indy by keeping the faces of his human characters mostly obscured. The effect, of course, is that it puts you deeply on edge, constantly stressed the more it becomes apparent that harm is on the way and that this home has tragically claimed the life of a beloved pet before.
As easy as Indy and his real-life owner, Leonberg, make it to follow the pup along on this dread-inducing journey, the ambitious high concept isn’t without its storytelling challenges when your lead protagonist can’t relay what he’s seeing. The only real clues behind this atypical haunting come via phone calls between Todd and Vera and old home videos featuring Grandpa. The rules to this world’s brand of ghosts are as murky as the ghosts themselves, and the metaphor behind them is sometimes at odds with the haunted house concept. Indy’s gentle nature sometimes softens the impact of the scares, even when you’re worried about his ultimate fate.
Still, it’s tough to care about the narrative details when you’ve got a lead as winsome and empathetic as Indy, who effortlessly leads you through right to the bittersweet conclusion, one that makes it nearly impossible not to walk away with an even deeper appreciation for the utter devotion and loyalty our furry best friends give to their human pack. Good Boy is packed with shadowed corners, flickering lights, tormented ghosts, and even doggy nightmares, but it’s not really a haunted house story. Instead, Leonberg crafts a thoughtful, unnerving, and heartrending portrayal of how utterly terrifying it can be for a dog when his whole world is upended and he’s unable to understand why.
Good Boy releases in theaters on October 3, 2025.
Editor’s Note: This SXSW review was originally published on March 9, 2025.
Reviews
‘Penny Lane is Dead’ Review: A Bloody Ozploitation Throwback Fueled by Punk Rock Energy [Fantasia 2026]
A cruel birthday prank leads to Ozploitation levels of violence and bloodshed in Penny Lane is Dead, the raucous horror-comedy feature debut by writer-director Mia’Kate Russell. A vicious ’80s throwback with a modern sapphic lens becomes the energetic canvas for Russell to make the leap from makeup artist to director, which means an infectiously unhinged dedication to practical effects. It’s that stellar effects work, along with a winsome punk rock heroine, that carries this bloody horror-comedy far even when its villains descend into grating cartoon territory.
Everything is rosy for popular girl Penny Lane (Bailey Spalding) in the summer of 1986. She’s celebrating her final days of high school with friends Toni (Tahlee Faraday) and Amy (Alexandra Jensen) at a remote family cabin before setting off to the college of her dreams. Penny is also riding the highs of her new secret romantic relationship with Toni; not even the naive and tender-hearted Amy is aware. Her good mood prompts her to also invite her family’s black sheep: cousin Kat (Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn, daughter of actor Ben Mendelsohn).
Though the trio braces themselves for Kat’s bad mood, she instead comes with cupcakes and a smile. It’s all a ruse; Kat gleefully sets about making Toni and Amy uncomfortable as Penny falls unconscious to her spiked treat. When Toni ejects her for the party foul, Kat then turns to criminal boyfriend Angus (Ben O’Toole) to crash the party. It transforms a night of intended revelry into a harrowing fight to survive.
Russell fully embraces B-movie, Ozploitation chaos, putting her characters through the absolute wringer. Punk rock energy and free-flowing drugs for party girl Kat set off simmering tension that roars to a boil with an inciting sexual assault. From there, Russell unleashes a no-holds-barred torrent of violence that delivers no shortage of arterial spray and wince-inducing prosthetic work. It’s not just the practical effects that are cheerworthy here, but Faraday’s resolute performance as Penny’s protector that forces her into fight mode. Penny Lane is Dead is prone to forcing its characters into making dumb decisions for the sake of plot momentum, but it at least imbues Toni with the adaptable street smarts that make her a rootworthy protagonist.
Penny Lane is Dead also excels at making you loathe its detestable villains. Wright-Mendelsohn gives excellent crazy eye; there’s a sadistic, manic edge to Kat that makes her instantly unsettling and unpredictable. She doesn’t bat a (crazy) eye as her much older lover, Angus, and his unsavory henchmen Rodowsky (Fletcher Humphrys) and Merrick (Steve Le Marquand), set about hunting Toni and Amy. But by the final act, Wright-Mendelsohn’s unhinged portrayal of the young psycho stretches thin with nowhere left to go. The one-note villainess descends into cartoon mustache-twirling that an unsatisfying conclusion fails to overcome.
Not helping is the clashing tone; Penny Lane is Dead wants to be a fun romp despite broaching bleak territory. The film’s baddies do their best to channel the ’80s with larger-than-life character choices; O’Toole and Wright-Mendelsohn in particular really latched onto the enjoyment their characters derive from inflicting skin-crawling sexual violence. It’s here where Russell’s examination of genre norms grows confusing, especially as it assigns all responsibility to Kat only for the horrors inflicted upon female bodies. And it really doles out brutal punishment upon Penny, Toni, and Amy.
As a lean, mean horror siege, Penny Lane is Dead holds your attention and effectively pulls you into Toni’s bid to meet dawn with her lives and friendships intact. It’s visceral, propulsive, and a strong debut in terms of style and energy. But Russell’s explorations never venture very deep, and that punk rock energy fizzles out by the film’s end, leaving you split on whether this rape-revenge tale offers enough catharsis at the end of its zany, brutal ride.
Penny Lane is Dead made its world premiere at the 2026 Fantasia International Film Festival and releases on Shudder on August 28.
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