Good Boy Director Talks Challenges Of Filming The Horror Movie Completely From Indy The Dog’s Perspective: ‘A Lot Of Trial And Error’

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If I had to pick the most inventive film coming out in 2025, Ben Leonberg’s independent horror movie, Good Boy, would be a strong candidate. The writer and director spent three years filming the entire movie from his dog Indy’s point of view. It was a challenging project, and as Leonberg told TopMob, it had its share of difficulties and successes.

While talking with Leonberg, he described the unusual methods he used while filming. When I asked him specifically about the scenes shot from Indiana Jones’s perspective, he explained that…

Thanks for noticing that – it was a lot of work handling the camera for the film! My back is really feeling the strain. Indiana Jones is actually quite short, and it might not be obvious when you’re watching, but when he’s standing up, his eye level is only about 19 inches from the ground.

Indy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, narrated the horror movie, following the story as it unfolded. He wasn’t a trained actor – this was his first film role! The movie centers around a dog who senses a ghostly presence in the house he shares with his owner, Todd, who is battling a long-term lung condition.

As a movie fan, I gotta say, the idea behind this storytelling decision is really cool, and it definitely makes for a fun watch. What’s even more interesting is they filmed Good Boy at the same location where the dog actor, Indy, and his trainer, Leonberg, lived! That way, Indy was totally comfortable and it felt more real for him. But, as Leonberg explained, they still had to figure out some tricky technical stuff to make it all work.

A key element of how ‘Good Boy’ was filmed and told was its perspective. It was important to position the camera at the dog’s eye level, which meant we couldn’t use standard tripods designed for people. We had to find or create special, shorter tripod legs to achieve that low angle and tell the story from the dog’s point of view.

Ben Leonberg’s film may appear effortless, but he explained the production was actually quite challenging. He noted that things which looked simple on paper proved difficult in reality. For instance, to guide the dog, Indy, along a certain route in one scene, the crew had to strategically place food on the ground to encourage him to follow a scent trail.

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I remember when Good Boy first started getting attention – everyone was so worried about Indy! It was crazy how much it blew up. That’s actually what led to the movie getting shown in more theaters, which was awesome. I was chatting with Leonberg, and he mentioned one thing about making the film that was particularly challenging for him…

Achieving very precise close-up shots was challenging. You can simply tell a human actor to adjust slightly – move their eyes an inch to the left, for example – but a dog can’t understand those kinds of directions. I needed to ensure the dog stayed perfectly still, with the light hitting its eyes just right, and my dog, at least, couldn’t grasp that concept. As a result, getting those seemingly simple, intimate close-ups required a lot of experimentation and adjustments.

It was challenging to achieve the necessary accuracy, especially since the dog wasn’t aware he was even being filmed!

Now that Good Boy is finished, you can enjoy it at home with an AMC+ subscription. As you watch, remember how much work went into creating a full-length movie shown entirely through a dog’s eyes.

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2025-11-23 01:09