American director Ben Leonberg brought his unique horror film to Sitges on Saturday. ‘Good Boy’ tells its story entirely from a dog’s perspective, screening in the Official Fantàstic section.
Leonberg explained the concept to Europa Press. He thought someone should tell a story about living in a haunted house from a dog’s point of view. The film explores how animals experience supernatural events.
Anyone who’s owned a dog knows the feeling. Your pet suddenly barks at nothing or stares intensely at an empty corner. These moments inspired Leonberg’s approach.
The director drew inspiration from the dog scene in ‘Poltergeist’. He wanted to expand that moment into an entire film. His own dog plays the lead role.
In the film, Indy moves with his owner to a haunted family house in the countryside. The dog sees visions of the previous owner’s death. Meanwhile, he struggles to protect his owner from being dragged into danger.
The project took over a decade to complete. Leonberg started developing ideas in 2012 and shot test footage in 2017. However, principal photography ran from 2021 to 2024.
Staying true to the dog’s viewpoint presented challenges. The narrative relies on a character who cannot speak but has superior hearing and smell. Every shot shows either the dog or comes from his perspective.
Leonberg admits he made things difficult for himself. Capturing subjective shots from the dog’s back and paws required extensive work. Nevertheless, his presence in many scenes creates genuine affection between them.
Despite supernatural elements, Leonberg considers ‘Good Boy’ a love story. It’s about a dog wanting to care for his owner. Like most ghost stories, it also explores mortality.
The director plans to work with human actors next. However, he hasn’t ruled out returning to animal-centred stories in future.
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