One of Mashable's favorites out of SXSW 2025 — and winner of the Howl of Fame Award out of the fest — Good Boy is coming to theaters this fall to scare you something awful. But dog lovers especially will be shaken.

The premise is simple: a dog is in a haunted house, aware of the spirits his owner can't see. It's ruthlessly frightening to watch this play out, not just because audiences tend to feel for dogs more deeply than they do human characters. It's because co-writer/director Ben Leonberg has a real star in Indy, the family dog who proves to be a mesmerizing onscreen presence. The two work together like you might expect from man and man's best friend.

In my rave review out of SXSW, I cheered, "Indy is just a star from his first frame. His dark eyes, floppy ears, and sweet expression

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