Good Boy ( Blu ray review )

There are two distribution companies in Scandinavia that really have delivered a lot of solid film releases over many years. We are of course talking about Studio S Entertainment and Njutafilms, who i personally believe have saved physical media in so many ways. Their beautiful physical media releases have had amazing covers, where some releases have really good special features included. I have bought a lot of releases from both of these distribution companies, and i will continue to do so as long as they are able to exist. And i know several movie lovers in Sweden who keep buying their releases, just like myself. As long as we have movies being released on physical media, we need to support the distribution companies releasing them. If we don´t we will not get new releases, which would be a complete disaster. So every month i go through a list, of upcoming releases of both DVD and blu ray films. Not every film is interesting, at least not to me personally. But there are some really nice releases that are worth picking up. For example i have a physical copy of the 2020 war horror film Ghost Of War, directed by Eric Bress, released by Studio S Entertainment in Scandinavia. This film tell the story of a group of soldiers during World War II, who are holding a German outpost while waiting for backup. It is within this old mansion where they begin to have visions, of evil spirits attacking the men. Not only are they attacked by evil spirits, German nazis are actually on the way to the mansion as well. Ghosts Of War turned out to be surprisingly good for being a war horror movie. Director Eric Bress may not have made an original horror film, but in this specific category it is worth a watch. If you can get the DVD, or the blu ray release of Ghosts Of War from Studio S Entertainment, definetely worth a pucrhase. One of the films i picked up on a blu ray copy from Njutafilms is the 2025 horror film known as Good Boy. A horror film that´s specifically focused from the eyes of a dog. Interesting concept for a horror film, and we definetely need something original in this category. Is this one of the better horror films to watch before summer is here, or should you just watch Cujo instead, the 1983 film adaptation from legendary author Stephen King?

Indy, a Novia Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, moves with his owner Todd ( Shane Jensen ), who suffer from a chronic lung disease, from New York City to Todd´s grandafather´s house in the countryside. Todd´s sister Vera ( Arielle Friedman ) worry about her brother, especially because of his health problems. While staying at this house. especially Indy experience some very strange moments of something mysterios, something evil coming out of the shadows.

We have plenty off films where dogs are included, especially in family comedies such as Beethoven ( can you believe they made 8 films in this franchise? ), plenty of Lassie films ( which i have only seen the 1994 film version and i can barely remember it, and we did have the 2020 film Call Of The Wild with legendary actor Harrison Ford, i can actually recommend this one. I should probably mention the 1983 classic horror film Cujo as well, perhaps one of the best dog movies ever made, based on the novel by Stephen King. Good Boy is quite a different kind of film experience, since this film is supposed to be seen from the eyes of a dog and how the dog react in different situtations In this case it is to see the dog Indy, who see something strange happening at his owner Todd´s grandfather´s house. The scenes where we see from Indy´s perspective really capture the life of a dog. Let me say that if you don´t like animal films at all, no matter if it´s a family movie, drama movie or a horror film, then you will definetely not enjoy this film. If you do want to watch something different in the genre of horror, Good Boy will most likely please you. I feel that they managed to make this film pretty effective, considering the main actor is an actual dog. Just to get all the scenes work must have been a challenge. Indy the dog feel so natural on the big screen, i know he may not understand what acting means ( he is just following orders basically ), but i got to say the portait of this dog looks good with the plot. There is a creepy atmosphere through Good Boy, especially at the house of grandfather. The cinematography by Ben Leonberg ( who both wrote this film and directed it as well ) looks really good, When it comes to the acting from the human actors, i would say the performances are good. But it´s honestly the dog Indy who really makes this film shine. As a horror film i would say Good Boy feels quite effective, and different than we are used to see. It may not be a future classic like the 1983 horror film Cujo, but still good enough to know it´s worth your precious time. I am all for fresh thinking when it comes to creating something uniqe in a horror film, and Good Boy definetely stands out. Director Ben Leonberg have created a pleasent surprise on a very limited budget, which should be appreciated if you love animal horror films especially. Even though the blu ray release of Good Boy from Njutafilms have no special features, still a nice release worth picking up.

Rating: DDD

If you want a physical copy of Good Boy and live in Scandinavia, check out the official store Filmvalvet where you can get your own copy in the following link:

Good Boy – Filmvalvet - Studio S & Friends