Sunday Scaries Interview: ‘Good Boy’ Filmmaker Ben Leonberg (with a Special Appearance by Indy) Chats About Making His Incredible Dog Horror Movie

Making a movie with an animal is never easy. Making a horror film with your own dog as the main character? Boy were the odds against filmmaker Ben Leonberg. Yet, along with his dog Indy, Good Boy turned out to be one of the most unique and memorable fright flicks of 2025. As the year is coming to a close, I wanted to talk to him about making the film, as well as the grassroots campaign to get awards recognition for Indy. We recently were able to spend some time on Zoom, where I got to meet Indy, as a bit of a bonus. Today, our chat comes your way.

In my review here of the film, I said the following about Leonberg and Indy:

Indy gives a hell of a performance, and it’s an actual performance, full of emotions. Sure, credit goes to his owners and handlers (more on them below), but the dog himself is doing actual work. He’s able to convey determination, fear, love, and unwavering support in a way that elevates the film.

Co-writer/director Ben Leonberg, who also is Indy’s owner, deserves a lot of credit for effectively centering a whole movie around the dog. Leonberg wrote the screenplay with Alex Cannon, while his wife and producer Kari Fischer is also handling Indy with him. The results speak for themselves, at least visually. The script Cannon and Leonberg crafted is a vehicle for this filmmaking style, so it’s up to the direction to rule the day. By centering everything from a dog’s perspective, the emotions are heightened, as well as the tension. Whatever you think he can’t understand, it stresses you out, which is the intent. By the end of Good Boy, you may well be devastated, though not in the manner you could be expecting.

Below, you can hear my conversation with Leonberg. We do our best to avoid spoilers, but we do talk about the end of the film in some ways, so be aware of that. Mostly, he’s explaining some of the ways in which he got Indy to appear to act. It’s absolutely fascinating stuff, especially when you see what was accomplished on the screen. The Indy for Oscar campaign is very funny to me, but it’s also not without merit, as this is an all-timer of an animal acting job. Kudos to them again, and the small team involved in making Good Boy.

Here now is my interview with Good Boy filmmaker Ben Leonberg. Enjoy:

Good Boy is available to watch right now!