For years now we have been hearing people say that Hollywood doesn't make original movies anymore and that all Hollywood makes is sequels and remakes. Well now we have a film that is an original idea but chances are it won't be getting seen by alot of people because it's not made by a major motion studio which is odd because right now it's these smaller horror studios that are making these original films and heck even one of the biggest films of the year Sinners really was an original film and was made by a major studio and so then join me as I give you my SPOILER FREE review of the film that proves that dogs are so much more better then cats with the film in question being called simply just "Good Boy" enjoy.
The plot of this film is when a do and his owner move to remote cabin in the woods in the woods it's up to the dog to project his owner before it's far to late. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual poot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad as the films plot whilst it is very simple that's kind of the point as this film is meant to be the stereotypical horror film only now the dog is the lead star of the film and because of that you can't really have a deep and thought provoking plot in it due to the fact that dogs don't talk and yet even with that limitation in place the films plot is still one that's really enjoyable as it gets to show off just how creative that the makers of this film really are by giving us a plot that yes could be seen as being similar to last years In A Violent Nature but also an original take on the the horror genre and while yes the plot of the film could be a little bit more stronger as if anything else this films plot does feel more like the plot for a halloween special of a TV show then the plot to a feature film the films plot does still work really well with it being painfully obvious that while alot of thought went into the films premise and idea that being telling a supernatural horror film plot from the point of view of the dog not much thought went into the main plot of the film itself with the plot of the film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
This film does have a really short actor list as starring in this film is Indy as himself and Shane Jensen as Todd. Also starring in this film is Arielle Friedman as Todd's sister and Larry Fessenden as Todd's grandfather while there are two other actors in this film those being Stuart Rudin and Anya Krawcheck there character names aren't listed anywhere online with the film having such a small list of actors in it this is something that really does help the film quite alot as it adds to the loneliness that both Indy and Todd go through in the film due the fact that there both cut off from the outside world and while it's also due to the fact that the film was made a shoestring budget it is something that the makers of this film used to their advantage by highlighting just how alone Indy and his owner are in the film with this being something that would have been lost if the film had a bunch more actors in it regardless of if they were big named stars or not but in saying that tho it would have been nice if the film did have more actors in this film even it's just to give the character of Todd someone to talk to other then the same people over and over again but that is something that might have gone against what the whole point of the film is even meant to be the first place or heck even having another dog actor in the film just to sort of back up what Indy is feeling might have worked just as well and not compromise the whole idea of the film something which it very easily could have done and therefor having only a small amount of actors in the film even if only three of them are human does serve to more help the film rather then hurt the film in the long run.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. With all of this films actors shockingly turning in some really good performances in this film something that is really shocking as by all rights this should be a film that really doesn't need good acing to make it work as the films premise is more then strong enough to do all of the heavy lifting for this films actors in the first place but no all of this films actors both human and canine manage to turn in some really good performances in this film with the films best actor oddly enough being the dog himself Indy as you can tell with out any lines of dialog just what it is that's going through his head at any given moment in this film with it making you wonder just how it is that they managed to train this dog to do half of the things that he does in this film with the dog himself also looking really comfortable on camera and not scared of anything that's going on around him which he very easily could have been with him being so expressive and getting across his emotions really well that there was no CGI done to him in this film and that is something that really does show you just how good of an actor that this dog really is with the acting that's in this film really being helped by the fact that the script for this film is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.
While this film does do really well in alot of areas sadly one of those areas is not it's characters as the films characters just aren't that well done. As Todd isn't that well done of a character and the rest of the human characters don't get alot of screen time to really show us just what it is that there characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place however tho the film does do something that's actually quite interesting with it's human characters and that's the fact that we never get to see there faces with the camera always looking up at them from the dogs point of view and because of that all of the human faces are either hidden entirely or obscured by something else in the scene which is a unique idea but just because the idea of not really showing there faces is unique doesn't mean that the characters are that well written as there not with Todd himself coming across as cheaply done Mia from Evil Dead 2013 and nothing more then not and while it is understandable why Indy himself doesn't have that much of a personality due to the fact that he's a dog the rest of the films human characters don't really have that going for them as the makers of the film should have given the characters that have a minor role in the film like Todd's sister and Grandfather for example a personality trait as that is something that would have made those characters seem all the more memorable in the first place and yet as things stand it would be very easy to forget those characters as they add nothing to the main plot of the film and even Todd who does add to the plot of the film still really isn't that memorable of a character in the first place as the makers of the film don't really add anything to the character that makes him memorable in the first place.
Much like In A Violent Nature his film does do something new with the horror genre but whilst that film tells the story of a slasher film from the point of view of the killer this one shifts the focus to the point of view of a dog. Which is a really unique concept so much so that it of course ended up on Shudder which right now seems to be the home for all of these weird and unique horror films but in saying that tho Shudder does seem to be the only place that a film like this would have been able to have been made as the idea behind the film is so weird and unique that it would have put alot of major studios off of making it as there really hasn't been a film like this one before now and heck even In A Violent Nature could be argued is a safe bet due to the fact that it's a slasher film where as this film is a supernatural horror film but in saying that tho due to the amount of buzz that this film got online even just a few months ago when the teaser trailer for the film dropped online this is a film that very easily could make a small profit due to the fact that the idea for the film did get alot of interest from people and given the fact that this film would have had a really small budget it's not that hard to see this film becoming a minor hit film something which now any major studio would be missing out on due to the fact that the idea or the film is just two weird and out there for them and who knows maybe with Sinners being a hit film and this film actually being pretty decent just maybe we'll start to see major studios like for example Warner Bros Pictures put alot of money into creating not only original films in general but also original horror films as well and not just do either remakes or sequels as this film has proven that you can still do an original film and do it well if you have the right creative team behind it to help to bring it to life in the first place.
While the film does gave alot of really good things going for it it does very sadly have alot of thigs that are going against it. One of which being the fact that this film had a really small budget as this means that this film couldn't look as good as it really could have done and is only limited to a few locations which oddly enough makes the world that this film takes place in feel all the more smaller and compact with another thing that really does work against the film being the fact that nothing in the film gets explained as we get to find out nothing in this film from what it is that's haunting Indy and Todd to what it is that they could have done to prevent it in the first place while this is something that could have done on purpose as the film does hint that it's something to do with Todd that's haunting them but at the same time tho this is something that should have been explained all the more better then what it was since as things stand it really cold have been anything that was haunting for them and for any reason and while tieing the haunting into a dogs need to protect it's owner was a really good idea it's one that starts to fall flat on it's face when nothing about the film is explained in the first place as even films like In A Violent Nature which really didn't need to explain anything due to the fact that it's a slasher film at least went out of it's way to tell us the audience why Johnny was going after this one pacific group of teenagers in the first place whereas here nothing really gets explained which makes the film look all the more worse and the screenwriters of this film come across as being quite lazy like they couldn't be creative enough to explain these things away in a way that makes sense in the context of the actual film itself.
Without going that much into spoilers this is a film that dog lovers will enjoy even the dog himself does go through some pretty traumatizing things in the films third act. While those things do work interms of the films plot they don't have the same impact that I think that the makers of the film wanted them to have with this mainly due to the fact that the relationship between Indy and Todd isn't that well developed or even touched upon all that much in the film as while the film does make a strong anti drug case by the end of the film it's to little to late as the film spends the vast majority of it's running time just having Indy think that something is there in the house with them and that's really it and while that is great for building up tension it does also take away screen time that could have been better spent on developing the love and friendship and Indy and Todd do quite clearly have for one another as that's something that's more important to this film then building up tension all of the time is even more so when you take into account that there's no pay off or release given alot of the time to the built up tension and while spending alot of time building up tension is perfect for a film like Halloween as that then allowed for Michael Myers to quite literally be anywhere and everywhere in the film here it doesn't work as here it does take away screen time that could have been better spent of the relationship between Indy and Todd as that relationship is what drives Indy to want to save Todd in the first place as it's clear as day that they both do care for each other but at the same time tho it's still something that really did need to be worked on as then it would have made what happens in the films third act and indeed the rest of the film for that matter all the more scary and horrific.
Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and thirteen minuets and six seconds. Which to be fair to this film is more then enough running time in order to tell this films plot in a way that does justice to the plot of the film with the film even having more then enough plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place but in saying that tho this film really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as not only does the film take it's time in really getting going when it can't afford to do so the film also doesn't fully develop the plot of the film either with it seeming like that the characters are just doing these random thins for the vast majority of the films running time with them only stopping those random things to have Indy go and investigate something he thinks is creepy and that's really it with this as mentioned before also effecting the films characters as none of this films characters get any kind of character development whatsoever while this is excusable for Indy as again he's a dog the rest of the films characters don't have that going for them as we know just as much about Todd coming out of the film that we knew going into the film with something that really could have helped the film out was if the film included a few scenes spread throughout the film that let us get to know these characters as that would then have the adverse effect of making the scenes with Indy seeing something creepy be all the more creepy and tension filled as we would have gotten to see just how much he and Todd mean to each other and thus we would have been given a chance to really care for them as people and not just as a characters in a film but because of the fact that the makers of this film were alot more interested in letting us know that this film is told from the point of view of the dog rather then his owner it means that we stuck with characters that will be forgotten about five minuets after the film ends in a plot that's not as well developed as it really could have been but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is a horror film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual scares that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film and well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual scares that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. As while the films scares are all just jump scares and really nothing more then that what helps them out is oddly enough the films central idea as even tho we've seen jump scares done from the point of view of humans before now we've never seen it done from the point of view of a dog and due to the low angle the film makers use when showing the dogs point of view it does mean that every day objects can now be seen as being more creepier then usual and again without going to much in spoilers as this is a film that really does need to be seen to be believed the films best scare is one that happens in the third act as that's when we get to find out that what is haunting them might not be something that can be stopped as it's something that Todd has been doing to himself for alot of his life and that very idea that sometimes you can't beat the bad guy and save your friend no matter how much you want to is something that's really creepy and when you mix in the fact that we do get some really creepy shots mixed in with an ending revelation that is bound to make you both shocked and if you love dogs happy then it does culminate in a third act that is on itself one big scare and that one that does work really well in the film with the rest of the films scares being just as good and as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall whilst this film isn't as good as the teaser and trailer made it out to be this is still a film that is worth watching even if it's just for the incredibly cute and adorable dog alone as he really does carry the film despite the fact that the film can't live up to it's own idea in the first place in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad thigs that are in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7.5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys an girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Tenor , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images from this film being Google Images simply because Google Images actually has images from this film really are up and on Google Images and plus pretty much much all of the images that I personally found on Google Images were all really very fairly high quality and as well as being as really very fairly high definition as well and so then horror fans we end this review as we always do with really our one and true goddess Elvira wishing us all some really very unpleasant dreams.
