“Heartbreaking” Horror Movie ‘Good Boy’ Gets New Trailer That’ll Have You Howling

September 18, 2025

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Move over, Krypto, because it looks like a new dog is about to steal the show as the latest trailer for the upcoming horror movie, Good Boy, has been released. Good Boy is a low-budget independent film that’s so doggone unique it’ll have you howling and follows a typical haunted house set up, but with the twist being that it is told from the point of view of a dog trying to warn their owner. It is a novel premise, one that has generated considerable hype for director Ben Leonberg’s directorial debut.

IFC and Shudder have now released a new trailer for Good Boy, coinciding with the sale of tickets. The trailer highlights the rave reviews the movie has gotten, including a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Much of the praise in the trailer focuses on the dog protagonist played by Loenberg’s dog, Indy. One review saying it is for “animal lovers” might calm some audience’s nerves, suggesting that the dog will survive the events of this movie. Further reviews have since praised “one of the greatest animal actor performances of all time” and watched in awe at “what the cast was able to create.”

Ever since Good Boy debuted at South by Southwest in March 2025, it has been generating positive buzz from critics and early audiences. The film’s trailer became such a viral hit that IFC and Shudder decided to expand the film’s Oct. 3, 2025, release from a limited rollout to a wide release. While past viral sensations haven’t always turned into guaranteed box office hits, notably Snakes on a Plane, the low-budget nature of Good Boy means it has a chance to turn a tidy profit. Check out the trailer below:

‘Good Boy’ Has a Good Chance of Being the Next Big Horror Hit

Good Boy will kick off the month of October, which is offering plenty of scares for moviegoers looking to get ready for Halloween. On October 17, Universal Pictures will release The Black Phone 2, while Netflix is giving Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein a limited theatrical rollout. Then, on October 24, Neon will release Shelby Oaks, the feature film debut of YouTube film critic Chris Stuckman.

Good Boy is the latest example of IFC and Shudder helping cultivate their own horror identity outside of A24 and Neon. Unlike the atmospheric and sometimes polarizing nature of A24 horror films, IFC and Shudder have focused on acquiring horror films that feel like unique, independent spins on classic established horror set-ups. Good Boy is a classic haunted house movie like The Conjuring, but from the perspective of an animal. In a Violent Nature took the set-up of Friday the 13th but told it from the killer’s perspective in a Terrence Malick-inspired way. Dangerous Animals was a serial killer movie and a shark movie rolled into one. All these films are stylistic but also easily accessible, and at just 72 minutes, Good Boy has the pedigree to be a smash-hit scary time at the movies.