New horror movie Good Boy puts into question everything we think we know about dogs in horror movies by having its star, Indy the dog, as the protagonist rather than a side character. Nevertheless, director Ben Leonberg says he was still inspired by his "favorite dog performance of all time." That is, of course, Jed in John Carpenter's The Thing.
"Jed in The Thing, I think, is the gold standard for what dog acting can be," says Leonberg to GamesRadar+. Wolf–Alaskan Malamute hybrid Jed stole scenes in the 1982 sci-fi classic The Thing with his eerie stares and creeping movements, which was vital to his sled-dog character who was infected by an alien species known as the Thing. But Carpenter's use of the crossbreed's sneaky manner is what inspired Leonberg.
"Carpenter is such a master of the point of view shots and using subjectivity to tell a story that was hugely inspirational in how we thought about making a film with Indy and what Indy could do, and how that would be useful as a filmmaker."
As for Jed himself, Leonberg recalls hearing Carpenter's director's commentary on The Thing, noting that Jed "had this really intense stare," much like Indy. "He's got these, like, beautiful, perfectly framed eyes, but he has this really intense, unblinking stare," adds Leonberg of Indy. "Which, as a filmmaker, is really useful, because… if you see a dog looking intensely off camera, and show the reverse of what the dog is seeing, and it's an empty corner, the audience kind of does the rest in their imagination."
However, it sounds as though Indy may have put in a lot more hours than Jed did, as The Thing took Carpenter around 12 weeks to film, whereas Good Boy was in production for years. "It definitely took a long time to make, we spent over three years and 400 days of filming," says the director. "Indy can only work a few hours a day because of his attention span. So it's just the result of a very long shoot that we finally had all the footage to have it ready."
So, how does Leonberg, who just so happens to be Indy's real-life owner, get Indy to act for such long periods of time? "So there are a lot of ways we're kind of creating his performance," explains Leonberg. "I mean, he's certainly acting for treats and for food, which is pretty easy to understand for a lot of people who have dogs… But he's also very intelligent, so he can be taught commands to have him move from point A to point B, and then beyond."
Good Boy hits theaters on October 3 in the US and on October 10 in the UK. For more, check out our list of the best horror movies, or keep up with upcoming horror movies heading your way.
