A new trailer for Good Boy showcases a haunted house story told entirely from a dog’s point of view, following Indy as he tries to protect his owner, Todd, after they move into a long-abandoned family home.
The film is directed by Ben Leonberg and features Shane Jensen, Arielle Friedman and Larry Fessenden alongside Indy, Leonberg’s real-life dog. The trailer leans on canine instincts—staring at empty corners, tracking unseen presences—rather than anthropomorphic tricks, framing the scares through what only the dog can perceive.
Good Boy is slated to open in U.S. theaters on October 3 through IFC, with streaming to follow on Shudder; the film is rated PG-13 and runs 73 minutes. A U.K.-Ireland theatrical rollout is set the following week via Vertigo Releasing.
The project arrives with festival credentials and early enthusiasm. It premiered at SXSW in March, where Indy picked up a “Howl of Fame” canine performance honor, and early critical tallies currently show a strong approval rating from published reviews.
Marketing underscores the film’s conceit by keeping viewers at the dog’s eye level, including moments where Indy appears to witness warnings from another dog and visions tied to the home’s previous occupant. Coverage around the trailer emphasizes that the emotional center is the animal’s loyalty and that the horror crescendos as Todd begins to succumb to a malevolent force.
Audience chatter has naturally zeroed in on a familiar question for pet-centered thrillers. Reports referencing early screenings indicate Indy survives, a detail likely to matter for viewers who avoid titles where the animal is harmed. With distribution set and word of mouth growing online, the campaign positions Good Boy as a fall genre counterprogrammer with a distinctive formal hook.
