From Lassie to the Messiah in the fall anatomy, dogs are actors like all others. For her horror movie Good Boy, director Ben Leonberg did not spend a simple route. Instead of hired a hired animal, he has his own domestic animal, Indie, to play a leading role.
A feature film, housed at home, is followed by a dog trying to protect his sick master from evil spirits hiding in the corners. Good boy is an unusual cinema experience, partly on the shoulders of the animal, because this story is said in its view.
Very, very long shooting
To play his own dog, Ben Leonberg must have been patience. His 1h12 film was shot for more than 300 days and just three years. Only the final sequence that lasted for 5 minutes took nine months.
“I knew how to make a performance that was very different from what I saw in other trained dog actors.“, Explains Ben Leonberg’s distribution, which gives his body a human character in the film to be able to make his dog more easily director.
How to consider the near distance?
In order to move from point B to point B, the director scattered his food throughout the house, by creating small trails. But the real challenge was a close relationship. Ben Leonberg posted the camera in order not to leave his dog. He sometimes whispered to him.
When Indi was forced to face the corner, as if observing the soul, the filmmaker spoke quietly to him, raising his voice in postproduction. “I found that the scenes that seemed difficult were the easiest and something that seemed easy was difficult. Nothing goes exactly as you planned to work with a dog who doesn’t know he is in the movie“, Adds Ben Leonberg.
The advantage of shooting with a dog
There were only two people in the film: the director and his wife, the door Fisher, as well as the film producer. “We had some hats. So I was a director, cinematographer, carpenter, shop worker, scene, everything”, Explains Ben Leonberg.
The true advantage of filming a movie with a dog? “It does not need hair or makeup“Says the director. Indie was four years old when she started filming and she is eight today.
Comments collected by Thomas Desroches in Paris on October 3, 2025
Good guy, currently in cinema
Source: Allocine

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.