Does the Dog Survive in Good Boy? We Have the Answer

This nonfiction does not contain spoilers for Good Boy, though we’ve utilized the film’s selling materials to fig retired the reply to this all-important question.

Good Boy, 1 of the year’s astir anticipated fearfulness movies, is acceptable to motorboat successful theaters connected October 3 courtesy of IFC and Shudder. With affirmative reviews disconnected the festival circuit aft its SXSW Film Festival debut (including a 7/10 from IGN’s Eric Goldman), audiences person been clamoring for this unsocial haunted location premise changeable from the position of Indy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. However, the 1 question galore wanted answered arsenic aboriginal arsenic the archetypal trailer is whether oregon not the canine lives astatine the extremity of the movie. After all, the main characters getting killed successful a fearfulness movie is not unheard of, and since Indy is efficaciously the film’s protagonist, galore dog-loving assemblage members request that other spot of assurance earlier they’re consenting to beryllium down with what could beryllium a traumatizing watch.

Does the Good Boy Live by the End of Good Boy?

Well, we tin allay your concerns: The canine astir surely lives.

I person not seen the movie yet, but let’s look astatine the evidence. Yes, lovable Indy surely faces immoderate supernatural peril on the way, but it seems the chances of him dying by the extremity of the movie are astir zero. The selling squad adjacent dropped an exclusive PSA earlier this period that fundamentally confirmed this aft galore prospective fans were making comments connected societal media inquiring arsenic to Indy’s fate.

Thankfully, manager Ben Leonberg, who is making his diagnostic debut with this film, knew that astir radical astir apt didn’t privation to spot a bully lad hurt. It makes other consciousness excessively since Indy, who is named that successful some the movie and existent life, is successful information Leonberg’s ain dog. And though Indy’s in-universe quality is named Todd and is played by Shane Jensen, Leonberg sometimes stood successful for Todd successful shots wherever helium could get distant with it, cementing Indy’s show arsenic helium played with his IRL champion person connected camera.

How Good Boy Was Made

By each accounts, Indy’s show is the biggest crushed to spot this movie beyond the caller gimmick of centering the movie connected a dog’s POV, with the canine histrion receiving a Howl of Fame Award retired of SXSW for his work. Most reviews person spotlighted however good Indy works arsenic the film’s lead, which is backed up by however Leonberg chose to sprout the film. He and cinematographer Wade Grebnoel support the camera astir ever astatine Indy’s oculus level, and the quality characters mostly person their faces obscured speech from successful a fistful of cardinal moments. While immoderate filmgoers whitethorn beryllium reticent astir an full movie changeable successful this style, the affirmative reviews and confirmation of Indy’s endurance bespeak that astir radical who spell spot it volition beryllium pleased with the experience.

Indy the Good Boy

Leonberg volition besides hopefully beryllium pleased with the film’s reception, since helium and Indy surely enactment their clip successful to marque it. Good Boy was changeable implicit the people of 3 years due to the fact that of stipulations arsenic to however agelong dogs tin enactment connected sets. Most productions that movie with unrecorded animals and not CGI counterparts necessitate the usage of respective doubles of the carnal actors since they can’t enactment for much than 3 hours a day. But Good Boy exclusively utilized Indy due to the fact that of his transportation to Leonberg, meaning shooting days were connected Indy’s schedule, not his owner’s. Leonberg and his producing spouse (and wife) Kari Fischer acceptable up their ain accumulation institution (called What's Wrong With Your Dog?) and lived successful the location the movie is acceptable successful portion making the film, meaning the endeavor was a existent labour of emotion for everyone involved.

Directors and Their Dogs

And that’s the existent communicative astatine the bosom of Good Boy: the emotion shared betwixt a canine and their human, lone this clip they’re threatened by a malevolent force. Reviews accidental that the genuine enslaved shared by Leonberg and Indy comes retired connected surface and is simply a immense portion of what seems to person made the movie creatively successful. It besides fits successful with dogs having a large infinitesimal successful movie successful 2025, with Krypto the Superdog making a large splash arsenic portion of James Gunn’s Superman reboot. Although Krypto was yet created with integer VFX for Superman, his exemplary was based connected Gunn’s ain canine Ozu, meaning some Good Boy and Superman diagnostic their director’s dogs. Why other marque a movie but to enactment your canine connected the large screen, really?

As for Indy’s aboriginal successful the concern and whether the canine histrion whitethorn instrumentality connected much movie roles, Leonberg addressed the thought successful an interrogation with Entertainment Weekly, saying “I deliberation he's retired and precise happy. But if the close canine nutrient marque wants to marque a Super Bowl commercial, we'll surely entertain it. He loves to work. It's much astir who would person the resources to propulsion it off. So we'll see.”

Are you excited for Good Boy? Let america cognize successful the comments!

Carlos Morales writes novels, articles, and Mass Effect essays. You tin travel his fixations connected Twitter.