The Story Behind How Good Boy’s Director Made A Horror Movie Around His Own Dog

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The 2025 movie lineup boasts many exciting horror films, but Ben Leonberg’s Good Boy has particularly resonated with online audiences. The film offers a unique perspective – it’s told through the eyes of a retriever investigating a haunted house. What makes the movie even more impressive is that the first-time director created the horror story inspired by his own dog, Indy.

Before the debut of Good Boy, Ben Leonberg discussed his special film and the lovable dog that the story revolves around with TopMob. In the conversation, he shared details about everything from the worry that Indy might not make it, to the experience of creating one of the year’s most eagerly awaited horror films alongside his wife and beloved pet:

Indy is my dog, and my wife and I adopted him as a puppy. We never imagined he’d become a movie star – we simply wanted a companion. And that’s essentially all the training he’s had. … It took a few years while we were developing the film. He’s a dog who really enjoys having a purpose. Being a retriever, he’s always eager to do something, and usually that involves tennis balls! But he happily took on the challenge of ‘let’s film a movie for three years.’

So, how did Leonberg and his wife help a young dog relax while filming? You might not believe it, but they actually lived in the Good Boy haunted house! That’s exactly what they did:

We didn’t travel back and forth between the set and our homes. We simply lived on the set-it *was* our house. … A big reason for this was how we worked with Indy. By letting him treat the house as his own, we were able to get the performance we needed.

I really got the sense that letting Indy live in the house for so long was key to his performance. It clearly made him feel at home and relaxed, and that allowed his real personality to shine through on screen. As the director explained, it was all about creating a comfortable environment so we could see the *true* Indy. He put it this way:

What really struck me about this film was its ability to capture those incredibly natural, unscripted moments. I mean, things just *happen* with animals, and they weren’t afraid to let those moments breathe. For example, I love how they filmed the dog simply falling asleep – it felt so authentic. It reminds me of my own dog; every morning, he weaves between my legs as a little greeting, and it’s something you could never really *teach* him to do. At least, I haven’t figured out how! The fact that the movie – or at least the setting – felt so real for the animal allowed these genuine interactions to unfold. It wasn’t about forcing a performance; it was about letting the dog be a dog, and that’s what made it so special.

Even though the haunted house felt genuinely spooky to Indy during filming, Ben Leonberg explained that he and his wife worked incredibly hard to transform a “charming house in the woods” into a terrifying location. For three years, the couple dedicated themselves to creating that unsettling atmosphere.

It looks like all the hard work paid off, because Good Boy is receiving fantastic reviews. It currently has a 91% approval rating from critics and an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Plus, TopMob gave it a solid three-and-a-half out of five stars in their official review, which suggests this could be one of the year’s most widely appreciated horror films. That’s quite an achievement!

It’ll be fun to watch what Ben Leonberg and Indy do next – they could easily succeed with another scary movie, a funny buddy comedy, or even a sports film. Either way, working with dogs and creating a movie sounds like a fantastic experience.

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2025-10-05 01:08